Home Schooled
by kb0
Summary: Summer after 4th year and after his trial, Harry becomes fed up with a number of things and decides he wants to spend more time with Sirius, so he convinces Sirius to home school him instead of returning to Hogwarts for his fifth year.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Home Schooled  
 **Rating:** PG-13  
 **Pairing:** none  
 **Summary:** Summer after 4th year and after his trial, Harry becomes fed up with a number of things and decides he wants to spend more time with Sirius, so he convinces Sirius to home school him instead of returning to Hogwarts for his fifth year.  
 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter; someone commonly known as JKR and probably several corps do. This is just for fun.

(A/N: This story has been outlined on my hard drive for about 3 years and it's time for it to move out as I clean things. The first draft is about 28K-words in 5 medium-sized chapters. Yes, I may have reordered a few events at the top, please go with it.)

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 **Home Schooled**

 **Chapter 1**

(bold part at the top quoted from the OotP book)

 **Over the next few days Harry could not help noticing that there was one person within number twelve, Grimmauld Place, who did not seem wholly overjoyed that he would be returning to Hogwarts. Sirius had put up a very good show of happiness on first hearing the news, wringing Harry's hand and beaming just like the rest of them. Soon, however, he was moodier and surlier than before, talking less to everybody, even Harry, and spending increasing amounts of time shut up in his mother's room with Buckbeak.**

 **'Don't you go feeling guilty!' said Hermione sternly, after Harry had confided some of his feelings to her and Ron while they scrubbed out a mouldy cupboard on the third floor a few days later. 'You belong at Hogwarts and Sirius knows it. Personally, I think he's being selfish.'**

 **'That's a bit harsh, Hermione,' said Ron, frowning as he attempted to prise off a bit of mould that had attached itself firmly to his finger, 'you wouldn't want to be stuck inside this house without any company.'**

 **'He'll have company!' said Hermione. 'It's Headquarters to the Order of the Phoenix, isn't it? He just got his hopes up that Harry would be coming to live here with him.'**

 **'I don't think that's true' said Harry, wringing out his cloth. 'He wouldn't give me a straight answer when I asked him if I could.'**

 **'He just didn't want to get his own hopes up even more,' said Hermione wisely. 'And he probably felt a bit guilty himself, because I think a part of him was really hoping you'd be expelled. Then you'd both be outcasts together.'**

 **'Come off it!' said Harry and Ron together, but Hermione merely shrugged.**

 **'Suit yourselves. But I sometimes think Ron's mums right and Sirius gets confused about whether you're you or your father, Harry.'**

 **'So you think he's touched in the head?' said Harry heatedly.**

 **'No, I just think he's been very lonely for a long time,' said Hermione simply.**

 **At this point, Mrs.** **Weasley entered the bedroom behind them.**

Harry sort of listened and participated after that, but he continued to think about the situation with Sirius, as well as his situation. A germ of an idea planted itself in him.

— — —

Several weeks passed and the day before it was time to return to Hogwarts, their school letters finally came. Harry wondered how they'd get to Diagon Alley to go shopping with so little time. Mrs Weasley solved that problem by volunteering to go get their two new books.

However, what really captured his attention was the fact that Ron got the boy's Prefect badge. He pasted a grin on his face and gave his friend a hearty "Congratulations". Still, he felt slighted and overhearing a comment from Kingsley Shacklebolt about how he thought it would have been good for Harry to have received the Prefect's badge didn't help. It just added to the bad feelings he had on a number of topics.

After he found Mrs Weasley struggling with a Boggart and she was rescued, he went to his room, or really the one he shared with Ron. Closing the door, he leaned back against it and thought for a moment. A thought he'd had weeks ago when they had been cleaning returned to him again, as if it couldn't leave him alone. The question was, could he do it? Thinking back to a few things he'd heard at the party, maybe he could and it might even be good for him; but there was only one way to find out.

Opening the door, he returned to the staircase just in time to see Sirius go up to his room. As quietly as he could, Harry followed him up. Just before Sirius could close his door, Harry called out quietly, "Sirius?"

The man stopped and stuck his head out. "Harry? What's wrong?"

This was it, thought Harry. "Can we, you know, talk?" Before Sirius could answer, he added hurriedly, "I have a few questions about you and my parents."

Sirius nodded slowly before motioning him in with a nod and opening his door. "Hurry in before Molly sees you." He closed the door behind his godson. "Take a seat wherever you want."

Making himself comfortable in an old chair while Sirius took the bed, Harry wondered what Sirius would say, but there was no way to know without asking. "Sirius, because you're my godfather, is it right for me to assume my parents wanted you to take care of me in case, well, you know."

Looking down, Sirius nodded slowly. "Yeah. Don't know what they were thinking and my actions proved that right. I abandoned you when you needed me most. Some godfather I am," he said guiltily and with self-condemnation. His tone turned a little angry as he added, "Can't do much for you now either since I'm stuck here."

They were both in a fine mess, Harry thought. "Err, yeah, about that, I've had an idea, and well, I'd like to know what you think." He knew he was rambling, but he had finally managed to get the message across because Sirius looked up at him for a moment with curiosity.

"What's that?" the man finally asked as he really looked at his godson, almost as if seeing him for the first time as someone who wasn't a toddler or best friend.

"I, well, I need you to really be my godfather. I know you can't replace my father, but I need someone like that. I need someone to teach me some things, tell me things, and … as much as I may not like it, I need someone to make me do a few things."

Sirius gave a short bark of laugh. "Oh Merlin, you're growing up. Listen Harry, I want to help you, but I'm so … screwed up myself."

"Then let me help you as you help me," pleaded Harry.

"That almost makes sense," Sirius said with a shake of his head. "What do you want? Not that I can give it to you since you're about to leave for school." The last part was a little bitter.

"I think I need two things." Harry ticked off one finger. "First, I need you to act like my dad. You can start by growing up and acting like the head of the House of Black, or at least I was told this used to be an important family. If you are my godfather and hopefully will act like my dad, then I need you to stand up to people who try to do the wrong thing to us. Like, why do you let Mrs Weasley run over you? I can't do anything about it because she's an adult and I'm not, but why do you let her do it?"

"Well, I, umm, yeah, there's, err…" Sirius finally shut up for a moment when he couldn't complete a proper statement. "I don't know," he said finally. "Maybe I'm afraid of what I might say to her. She is trying to be helpful and," the bitterness returned, "doing things I can't."

"I need an adult in my life, Sirius. There's so much wrong that I can't do anything about and I know I don't know enough. Please, show me how things … life … is supposed to work."

Sirius nodded slowly. "You're right, you do need that. Your grandfather did a lot of that for me for the few years I knew him." He nodded more confidently this time. "Yeah, someone's got to do it." He looked at Harry for a moment. "That's going to be hard stuck in this house and with you at Hogwarts though. Next summer maybe…" he ended thoughtfully.

"Why are you stuck here?" Harry asked, hoping that came out innocently. Sirius wasn't fooled.

"You know why."

"Tell me anyway," Harry persisted.

"Fine," growled Sirius. "You know Pettigrew-"

"He's not," Harry interrupted, "the one keeping you in this house. He's made your life hard, but he's not the one."

Sirius stared for a moment. "Fine, you know Dumbledore says I have to stay hidden."

"Why?" When Sirius started to answer, Harry continued, "Why do you believe he'll help you? He's had over a year."

Sirius's mouth snapped closed and he blinked hard while he thought for a long moment. "I guess because I'm used to listening to him and taking his advice."

"Are you taking his advice or doing everything he says?"

The man looked at him before starting to chuckle and then laugh before ending in a sour expression. "I'm being what I never wanted to be, a follower. Yet, how can I get out of here?"

"There must be someone else that can help you. Can't you think of anyone?" Harry asked.

Sirius gave it a moment's thought, looking like he was really thinking this through for the first time. "Yeah, there might be, maybe." He grinned at Harry. "Dumbledore probably wouldn't be happy, but it's not his life either."

"No, it's your life," Harry agreed, "and it affects me too."

"True." Sirius looked at him for a moment. "I'll see about taking care of that tomorrow after you go off to school." Sirius looked at him thoughtfully for a moment. "I'm surprised at you saying all of that. I thought you believed in and followed Dumbledore."

Harry sighed. "I used to, but this past year and especially since the third task has made me start to think about things a little differently. He's not evil or anything like that, but I'm not happy with some of the things he's done, especially in regards to me."

Sirius snorted. "Yeah, I'm not completely happy with him either. You said there was a second thing. What was it?"

Here it comes, Harry thought. "I, well, I'd like you to teach me, maybe Moony too."

"Yeah, next summer, maybe even a little at Christmas," Sirius said with a nod.

"No," Harry stopped him, "I mean starting tomorrow." As his godfather started to object, Harry stated his thought boldly. "I don't want to return to Hogwarts; I want to stay here with you."

Sirius looked at him steadily for a moment. "You're serious?"

Harry couldn't help but grin as he said, "No, you're Sirius."

Sirius threw his head back and laughed hard. "Good one, Harry; you got me, well played. Now, about not going back to Hogwarts, I'd love to have you here, but really?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Why?" his godfather asked.

"Well…" A knock on the door interrupted Harry as did a voice from the hallway.

"Sirius?! Is Harry in there?" shouted Molly Weasley.

The man seemed to deflate with wariness for a moment before he rose.

"Remember, it's your house and you're my godfather," Harry said quickly and quietly.

Sirius stopped and looked at him for a moment before he nodded and stood taller. As he approached the door, Molly started knocking again and more loudly. He jerked the door open and the woman almost fell forward as she was caught by surprise. "May I help you?" he intoned calmly and formally.

"I was looking for Harry since he wasn't in his and Ron's room." She peered around him and looked into the room; she didn't look happy to find him here. "There you are, Harry dear. Come, time for bed so you can get up in time for the train tomorrow." She looked at the man and berated him, "You shouldn't keep him up so late."

"I'm well aware of the hour, Molly, and _my_ _godson_ and I were having a conversation. You can rest assured that I'll make sure he's in bed at an appropriate time. I'll let you tend to _your_ _children_ ," he told her.

"Sirius," she sputtered, "he needs to come now."

"My hearing works very well, thank you, does yours?" Her eyes went wide at the rebuke, but he continued on. "I appreciate your help when I've been unable, but I will take care of my family now. Have a good night's rest." Sirius closed the door almost in the woman's face, since she hadn't backed up from before. He also pulled out his wand and shot a spell at the door before he resumed his seat with his better posture.

"Is that what you were expecting?" he asked.

Harry grinned and nodded slightly. "Yeah, thanks; that's a good start."

"I'm sure I'll hear about it later," Sirius said with an amused look. "Now, before we were interrupted, I believe you were about to tell me why you didn't want to return to Hogwarts. I'd really like to hear this since I'm not sure it's a good idea."

Harry took a couple of deep breathes to screw up his courage. "Honestly, it more that I want to stay here than I don't want to return to Hogwarts."

"Oh? Do tell, because I can tell you it's positively boring here," the man said sarcastically, "not to mention that you won't have all of the same opportunities here; for example, no Quidditch in the house as we don't really have any place to go play it."

"I'll miss flying, but I can give up Quidditch," Harry told him as he put his fingers through his hair, already feeling a little depressed as he thought at what he was about to say. "Most of the reason I don't want to go back is that one or more bad things happen every year and I'm tired of it.

"It was only about two months ago that I was kidnapped and Cedric was killed right in front of me. I was forced to help resurrect Voldemort, be tortured by him, and then fight for my life. I may look OK on the outside, but I still have nightmares about that some nights."

"Still?" Sirius asked quietly.

"Yeah. They were bad the first week after, but I still get them. My nightmares from fighting the basilisk still come back sometimes too. Then there's ones from the Dementors a year ago."

"Those memories still haunt me," Sirius admitted as he looked down and breathed hard for a moment.

"This summer hasn't been a picnic either," Harry said after giving Sirius time to gather himself. "Attacked by more Dementors, then having a stupid trial for it all," he said a little angrily. "If that's not bad enough, even I can tell that Dumbledore is avoiding me despite having me tailed and not saying a thing about it. So I'd just as soon avoid him too by not returning to school. I can learn just was well here, I think, and I'll be a lot safer."

"Not sure what's going on with Dumbledore," Sirius said after a little thought. "I agree he's avoiding you, but he's also very concerned about you for some reason he won't name."

"Well, I'd as soon as not have to deal with that. Look at what he did with the Prefect badges. In some ways, it's not a big deal and I'm happy that Ron has something special, but it really should have been me."

Sirius's grin returned. "I'm sure I'm a little biased, but even when I try to objective about it, I would agree with you about that choice. I don't think Minerva knew I was listening in, but I heard her tell Remus that she had picked you but was overridden, and only one person can do that." He sighed and looked at Harry closely for a moment. "I'll agree that you've got some good reasons, but this is still a big deal. What about your friends?"

"You mean the ones that wouldn't write me because Dumbledore said so?" Harry asked a little caustically before he reined himself in. "I've mostly forgiven them, but I don't feel as close to them as before. We can write, I suppose, or maybe they won't write again. I really don't have any other close friends."

"That bad?" Sirius asked with a raised eyebrow and received a nod.

"There's two more reasons," Harry told him. "You heard what they said about the new Defence teacher Umbridge? She was at my trial and it was obvious she didn't like me. If she's going to be teaching there then after what the Ministry has said about me in the newspaper, I imagine it won't be fun with her."

Sirius harrumphed. "She was before my time at Hogwarts, but I remember my mother talking about her and liking her family, so that says a lot against her. What was your other reason?"

Harry did his best to smile adoringly. "I'd like to spend time with you. We've barely been able to get to know one another because of others interfering and I want to spend time with you. I can't think of a better way to do that than letting you teach me, not only school work but the things that my dad should have taught me growing up."

Sirius shook his head. "I was afraid you'd say something like that."

"Why?"

"Because that's the hardest one to say no to, you little rascal." Sirius reached out and ruffled Harry's hair with affection as Harry grinned and let him. "Let's go see if Remus is still here and get an opinion from him. I'd need his help to pull it off."

"Yes!" Harry hissed and jumped up with joy.

Sirius laughed. "Come one, but given what I suspect will happen, you might be better off standing outside the door to the kitchen and listening without being seen."

"I can do that," Harry said happily as they left the room.

On the final set of stairs, Sirius put his finger to his lips and then pointed at a spot right outside the door to the kitchen. Harry stationed himself there and prepared to wait as Sirius walked into the next room that had several low voices talking.

Sirius had barely walked in the door when Harry heard Mad-Eye Moody say, "Sirius, is there a reason that-"

"Yes," Sirius interrupted the man, "there's a reason for that and a few other things. Remus, I'm glad you're still here because I could use your advice on something. Hmm, Cousin, you should probably come with him. I'll be in the library when you finish your conversation."

"Is Harry in bed now?" Harry heard Mrs Weasley ask in a piqued tone.

"Molly, my apologies for my abruptness earlier, but you had no way of knowing that you were interrupting an important conversation. Therefore, let me take the time to say now what I should have said then.

"Although don't say it often enough, I do appreciate all the work you've done here from preparing meals better than I could and for your efforts to clean this old house. I appreciate even more the efforts you've made in the past to watch over Harry when I couldn't. That being said, while he's in this house and under my care, I will see to his needs. After all, he is not only my godson but my heir."

It was all Harry could do not to gasp at that last part as he hadn't known about being Sirius's heir.

"I know I haven't acted like I should for most of this summer, but as Harry reminded me this evening, although he didn't use these words, I am the adult and it's time to start acting like it, not only for my sake but more importantly for his." Sirius paused for a moment before he also said, "Have a pleasant evening, Arthur, Molly, and you as well Alastor. Remus and Nym, I'll see you both in the library shortly."

Sirius strode out of the kitchen and Harry made haste to follow him as well as walk quietly while considering that he hadn't heard any protests from Mrs Weasley and he speculated it was because Sirius had surprised her.

In the library, they made themselves comfortable while they waited. Harry had to ask, "Is it really true that I'm your heir?"

"It is," Sirius said with a satisfied look. "I made you that shortly after you were born and there was no one on the horizon for me. Even now years later, I still think that was one of my better decisions and I stand by it. Perhaps that won't be needed eventually assuming I marry one day, but you'll always be a part of my life and I hope to always be a part of your life."

Harry nodded very slowly, not able to speak as he felt almost overcome with happiness.

"Speaking of being my heir," Sirius said thoughtfully, "I have a couple of things for you, but I'll need to find them first…"

Before more could be said, they heard footsteps coming towards them and Sirius shut up and pulled out his wand as he watched the door.

Remus stuck his head in the partially open door. "Ready for us?"

"Do come in and take a seat." After Tonks shut the door, Sirius cast a spell at it and put his wand down. Looking at his cousin, who shifted her hair a darker pink, he finally asked, "Nym-"

"Don't say it," she said testily.

He glared at her and commanded, "Hold your tongue for a moment, Cousin … or really my Niece. I know your dislike of your name, hence me calling you Nym earlier."

She looked down a little guiltily. "It's only a little better."

"As I was saying - Cousin Nym," Sirius started again and his look promised dire consequences for being interrupted again. "One of the things I believe I need to do is to fix parts of the family. Your Aunt Bellatrix will receive her due tomorrow when I kick her out of the family. I've yet to decide what to about your Aunt Narcissa; however, your mother has a choice."

Tonks looked up at him suddenly.

"Your father has taken good care of your mother from what I've heard, and I've found him to be pleasant the few times I've met him. Has your mother ever expressed any desire to be reinstated into the Black family even though she is married?" he asked her. "Or do you have that wish?"

Tonks stared at him for a moment, just blinking. "I, uh, I know she was upset at being thrown out, but I don't believe I've ever heard her say anything else about it. As for me, I really don't know since I've never been a part."

"Sad but not surprising she hasn't talked about it. I'd like you to take the offer to her that it is possible if she desires it." Sirius picked up a quill and began writing for a minute. After what appeared to be a short note, he sealed it and then handed it to the young woman. "For your mother. Also, I would like to ask a favor of you. If I gave you a letter for Amelia Bones, would you be willing to take it to her and give it to her privately?"

Remus hissed as he sucked his breath in. "Are you sure that's wise, my friend?"

"Err, yeah," Tonks agreed. "What if she accused me of knowing where you were but not bringing you in?"

"I will do my best to protect you," he promised. "I'll point out that I contacted you via an owl because you're an Auror and family. I will also be offering to turn myself in to you if she'll promise me a real trial, if it's required. I'm not sure that it is, but it might be. I'm still looking into that. If you're willing, I'll get the letter to you tomorrow."

It didn't take her long before she said, "Yeah, I'll do it. It'd be good for my career too."

"There is that," he said with a smile, as if he'd planned it. "I'll let you go. Please talk to your mother soon."

"Sure," she agreed and rose. After a quick good-bye to everyone, she left.

Sirius locked and silenced the door again. Now he grinned as he looked at his old friend. "Mr Moony, Mr Padfoot requests your cooperation on a most brilliant prank devised by none other than Mr Prong's own little buck. I also believe Mr Prongs and Mrs Flower would endorse this if they could speak to us."

Harry couldn't help but grin after the funny speech and the warm thoughts of being included an almost an equal with his parents' friends.

Remus was wearing a slightly amused smile by now. "Do tell, Mr Padfoot. What scheme has been cooked up this time?"

Sirius walked over and sat next to Harry and put his arm around his shoulders, as well as became more serious. "Harry has been having quite a bit of trouble at school each and every year, as I believe you're aware?"

The smile left Remus quickly and he gave a tight nod.

"Harry has also expressed some other opinions on the matter of his life and how unhappy he has been, not to mention he's been … pissed off?" Sirius looked at Harry, who nodded, "about not being able to spend some quality time with me, and you too for that matter. This year doesn't sound too promising either with talk about that Umbridge woman. Therefore, he'd like you and me to open the Marauders School of Magic."

Remus shot up out of his chair. "What?! You can't be serious, and don't say it!" he ordered as he looked between the other two.

"He knows me too well," Sirius said conspiratorially to Harry, who chuckled. "Actually, Harry is quite serious about this and I think I have to agree."

Lupin looked at each of them for a moment before he sat back down. "Now I understand why you'd push for a trial, but I don't believe I understand why you'd still allow this. Hogwarts would be better for him."

Sirius looked at Harry and Harry went through his argument again. When he finished, he noticed that Professor Lupin didn't look happy, but he wasn't arguing either. "You know," Remus said after a long moment of thought, "this will make some people unhappy … in fact, really unhappy."

"I know," Harry answered before Sirius could. "But it's my life and I want to try something different. I want family in my life and you two are the closest thing I've got, even if you are both half-daft," he added the last part slyly.

The two men chuckled lightly at the joke that had broken the slightly depressing mood after Harry's reasons for not going back to Hogwarts.

"So, Molly or Albus?" Sirius asked suddenly.

"Molly will only be loud and that's easily taken care of; you've already started on that," Lupin told him. "Albus will be who you have to watch out for."

"I know he'll bring a lot of pressure, but both Harry and I have noticed that he's avoiding Harry this summer, something he hasn't mentioned at the Order meeting either," Sirius pointed out.

"Hmm, you have a point," Lupin agreed in a thoughtful manner.

"He also can't turn me in himself unless he wants the Order all charged with aiding an escapee," Sirius told him.

Remus snorted with amusement. "True." He looked at Harry. "You're really sure about this? It'll get very lonely, even if there are two of you here."

"Three," Black said firmly. "Move your mangy carcass here. I said I'd need your help to teach and there's no reason you can't join us. I'll even make you a special room downstairs in the basement if you want it and we can afford the potion for you."

"Padfoot," Moony protested with almost a growl in his voice.

"Stuff it, Moony," Padfoot said with a little heat. "Get over your 'I don't need charity' bit. Harry needs you in his life and that means here. You'll be earning it. Or are you going to run away again? I shall not. The shame of once is more than enough for me."

"Sirius…" Harry started, but the man stopped him with a hard squeeze on his shoulder.

"I screwed up, Harry. I let my emotions take over what little sense I had and I abandoned you to ten difficult years you should never have had to endure. I'm really sorry and it won't happen again. Remus," Sirius flicked his hand at his old friend, "abandoned you too. It would have been a lot harder for him to have taken you in, but he could have been there for you, checking up on you instead of running off as he did. This is his chance to make up for that."

Harry noticed that Remus was hanging his head and wouldn't look up at all. He wasn't sure what to say about the past, as much as he would have liked to have someone come check on him; but he could speak to the future. "Please? Please be in my life now."

Lupin finally looked up and there was a tear going down one cheek. "I'm so sorry, Harry. I couldn't deal with life rationally then. I might have been insane after your parents died, I'm not sure. I'm very sorry I never checked up on you." He nodded after a moment. "Albus isn't going to like it, but I'll do it for you, and for James and Lily."

Sirius snorted. "Albus has had you wasting your time. You've checked on the packs and have their answer. Going back again isn't going to help and you know it."

"Yeah I do," Remus said slowly, "but he's still not going to like it." He suddenly grinned and his mischievous look from earlier returned. "So, how are we going to do this?"

"Not much to it really. Harry stays here tomorrow while everyone else leaves for the train," Sirius said with a shrug. "The more interesting part comes during the early afternoon, I'd think."

"Probably, but you're going to get an earful from Molly no matter what time of day," Lupin pointed out.

"Only if she can find me," Sirius said with a grin. "I think Harry and I will spend the morning learning a few things about the Black family, as well as the Potters. When we can't be found, you'll just have to innocently point out they have to leave or they'll all miss the train…"

"And Harry will have to come later on his own," Lupin said with a nod. "Simple and not too hard to screw up."

"Always good," Sirius agreed and stood. "Kreacher!"

The elf popped in. "Filthy master called?"

As Sirius took a deep breath, Harry quickly pulled on his robes. "Gently."

Sirius looked like he'd eaten something distasteful, but he held it in for a moment before he very evenly said, "Kreacher, I order you to never again insult myself or my heir, Harry Potter. Is that clear?"

Now Kreacher struggled and opened his mouth, though no sound came out.

"Now, Kreacher, you are to go to the room that has Harry's trunk and possessions and move them all to my old room. You will do all of that as silently as possible and not wake anyone up. After that, you will start on cleaning the house until it is time for breakfast, and then you will sleep as much as you need to be rested and then continue cleaning the house. I want the house looking as good as my mother expected it to be by the end of next week. You may go."

The elf looked upset but bowed his head ever so slightly before he left.

Sirius let out an explosive breath. "That was so hard to do. I've hated him for years."

"Good job," Harry told his godfather. "The bottles of alcohol will be put away tomorrow too, right?"

Sirius grimaced but nodded. "Being the adult sucks sometimes."

Remus chuckled but Harry beamed at his godfather. "I appreciate it."

"Just for you, Harry. Come on, let's go find your room. I want you away from the portrait of the old Headmaster and my great-grandfather, or whatever he was," Sirius said as he led him away.

"He was watching me?" he asked aghast.

"Don't know for sure, but probably, knowing Albus." Padfoot looked at him and grinned. "You'll like my old room. Remus, bring your stuff with you tomorrow."

"Very well, for James and Lily," Moony said as he headed down the stairs while Sirius and Harry went up.

Sirius opened a door that had his name on it. Inside was a room done in maroon and silver. However, it wasn't the colors that grabbed Harry's attention, it was the two posters with barely clad girls on it. They were Muggle in nature since they weren't moving and Harry didn't think most witches would have posed for a poster like either of those.

"Think you can live with these decorations?" his godfather asked.

"I'll, err, manage," Harry eeked out, barely keeping a normal voice as he eyed a pair of very healthy look girls in red bikinis on one of the posters and a girl with a deep tan in a white bikini on the other poster..

"I'm sure," Sirius said and clapped him on the back. "Get some rest. I'll come wake you up in the morning."

As he left, Harry looked around and saw his trunk. A check showed it all to be there. He used the bathroom and then changed before going to bed. A part of him was really going to miss his friends, but he still thought he was doing the right thing. Hopefully, he'd still think that in a month.

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(A/N: There's the start. I'll post as I have time to edit, probably once a week or maybe twice a week if you're lucky.)


	2. Chapter 2

(A/N: Thank you everyone for all the nice reviews. :)

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 **Chapter 2**

The next morning Harry and Sirius went to breakfast so early that they saw Arthur as he was leaving for work and Molly looked at the pair of them. "I'm surprised to see you this early," she said to the man, looking like she was trying to be very careful with her words.

Sirius cast a light warming charm on the dishes of food on the table to reheat them slightly. "It's a big day and I wanted a little extra time with Harry."

Molly nodded but didn't comment, as if she didn't trust herself.

Harry found it amusing how careful Sirius was with his words. None of it was untrue, but Mrs Weasley was going to be surprised later.

After a quick breakfast, they headed back upstairs. Harry looked at his godfather. "I really need to say good-bye."

Sirius nodded after a moment. "I can understand, but you can't make it look like you're not going. How are you going to handle that?"

Harry considered that before he smiled suddenly and strode towards the girls room and knocked.

Hermione answered fully dressed while Ginny was visible behind in her dressing gown. "Is something wrong?" the brunette asked.

Although he'd never done it before, Harry forced himself to step forward and initiate a hug. "Sirius just told me I'm not taking the train to school but going a different way, and, uh, well, I just wanted to let you know so you wouldn't miss me too much."

"But why?" she asked as she let him go.

"Security," Harry answered simply as he looked at Ginny. The redhead blushed slightly but stepped forward and they hugged briefly.

"I'll see you later," he told them as he started to leave.

"What about breakfast?" Hermione asked.

"Already ate," he told them with a shy wave before he turned and walked towards Ron's room.

"Smooth," Sirius whispered.

"The sorting hat wanted to put me into Slytherin," he whispered back.

"Interesting," Sirius said and sounded that way, not negative in any way, which Harry appreciated.

Harry had to wake Ron up, but he told his friend the same thing. Ron nodded sleepily and mumbled, "Later."

The two walked out and Harry looked at his godfather. "This way," the man said.

They walked up to Harry's room and Sirius locked Harry's bedroom with a special spell. "Just to keep your stuff there, not that I'd expect them to go in. This way."

A minute later, Sirius used his wand to unlock a door to a room Harry had never been in before. "The family study," Sirius answered. "All the important documents and such are in here, assuming you can open the drawers. It's where the really important family business is conducted and I don't expect them to be able to find us, unless they have Moody helping them."

Sirius used his wand to remove a good bit of dust from the place. "Maybe I should replace Kreacher if he can't keep this place clean," he said as he took his seat.

"Please give him a chance, but if he can't, I know a house-elf who would come work for me," Harry told him.

"I suppose," Sirius said thoughtfully, "it's possible that it's too much for him, but he used to be able to do it by himself when I was younger."

"Maybe he's having trouble because he's too old?"

Sirius shook his head. "He's not too old. We'll see what happens with my last command. If he doesn't improve, we'll consider your idea.

"Now, let's talk about the Blacks and the Potters, how the families are set up, and some of the duties that you should have learned about while growing up. We'll start planning for your classes later today."

"Right," Harry said with a slight grin and with enthusiasm.

— — —

At half past ten, a small contingent arrived and Moody took charge. "Is everyone ready to go?"

"Ron's bringing his trunk down," Hermione answered, "but the rest of us are ready."

"Where's Potter?" Moody asked, his magical eye moving around.

"He's not going with us," Hermione answered again. "He said there were alternate arrangements because of security."

Moody's special eye swiveled around and focused on her, causing the girl to take a half-step backward and pull into herself a little. "There are no alternate arrangements," the old Auror said a little gruffly. "He's supposed to go with us; that's why we have so many people here." His blue eye resumed its movement as he muttered, "Merlin's balls."

The old Auror turned to his Auror companion. "Don't think we have enough time to search for him and get them to the train on time."

Kingsley Shacklebolt looked thoughtful as he also observed the students in front of him. "Seems like this is something Black and Potter thought up; they looked as surprised as we are."

Moody grunted as Ron came down with his trunk. "I think you're right. We'll have to go without him and Dumbledore can find some _alternate arrangements_ after all."

Hermione looked at the other students and frowned, but she didn't say anything.

* * *

"Enter."

Minerva McGonagall entered the Headmaster's office. "You sent for me?" she queried before taking a seat in front of his desk.

Albus Dumbledore set his quill in the ink pot before he looked at her far more seriously than she expected. "I need you to go to Headquarters and find out why Harry Potter didn't go to the train with everyone else, as well as bring him to school."

McGonagall wasn't sure she'd heard him correctly. "I'm sorry, did you say that Mr Potter didn't get on the Hogwart's Express like the others that were with him?"

"Yes," Dumbledore confirmed gravely. "Alastor just told me moments ago. Apparently, Harry told his friends early this morning that alternate arrangements had been made and he couldn't be found when they left."

"That's most unusual," she said thoughtfully. "I'll have an early lunch and then go check. Would you like to join me for the mid-day meal?"

"Thank you, but I have far too many parchments to take care of at the moment and they must be done before school starts this evening," he told her.

"Very well, I'll escort him to school and let you know after," she replied as she stood.

"Thank you, Minerva; I appreciate your help with the matter," he said, grabbing the quill and the next parchment on the stack.

— — —

After a quiet lunch in her office, Minerva used the Floo connection in her office to travel to Headquarters … she was thankful for that perk. She found the house to be quiet, which wasn't overly surprising now that the students were gone. She suspected Molly had returned to the Burrow shortly after the students had left.

Not finding anyone downstairs, she went upstairs. Hearing voices from the direction of the library, she turned that way. Inside, she saw her wayward student along with his godfather. She called up her best disappointed look and cleared her throat. She was rewarded with Harry turning and looking at her then instantly looking guilty; then she was surprised when he sat up straighter and looked determined.

"Minerva, what a surprise," Sirius greeted her pleasantly. "What can we do for you?"

She was not fooled by his innocent act. "Since Mr Potter told his friends there were alternate arrangements for his trip to school, I'm here to take him."

"Oh, yes," Sirius knowingly as he turned completely in his chair to face her. "I'm afraid that Harry stretched the truth a little, something I'm sure he'll pay for later when he next speaks with his friends. The truth is that there are alternate arrangements for his schooling, not his trip to school."

After a moment of contemplation where she was sure she was in the middle of a Marauder prank, she said, "Excuse me?"

"To be more plain, Harry will not be attending Hogwarts this year. He will receive individual tutoring, as is allowed by the law," Sirius said plainly, enunciating his words carefully, as if he thought she needed extra help in understanding.

"The Headmaster is not happy with his not following the plan," she countered.

"Then," Harry replied with more confidence than she expected, "he could come here to tell me why himself, instead of ignoring me like he has all summer. Surely you have better things to do, Professor, than to search out a single student who changed their school options. Or did you go talk to Sally Ann Perks when she left after second year?"

"So your first year class has already lost one student?" Sirius asked, sounding surprised.

"Yeah…"

"Mr Potter!" she exclaimed a little indignantly.

"Professor," Harry said respectfully and he looked like he regretted having to tell her this, "if you can please be honest with me, why do you care if I'm there or not. You've never listened to me when I come to you about trouble and as far as I know, you've never helped me with problems that need an adult."

"Mr Potter! Of course I care. How could you think otherwise?" she sputtered, hardly believing his accusation.

"Well, from what I've been told, you didn't stop the Headmaster from leaving me with the Dursleys, although you could have, giving me ten years plus three summers of what I now know to call abuse.

"At Hogwarts in my first year, I came to you about someone stealing the Philosopher's Stone. You told us to mind our business, but it turns out someone was really trying to steal it.

"My second year, I would have greatly appreciated an announcement or something to help stop the rumors about me being the Heir of Slytherin, but you didn't do anything.

"In my third year, you took the broom that Sirius gave me and said you and Professor Flitwick were going to strip it down to make sure it was not cursed and took forever to give it back while finding nothing wrong with it."

"What?!" Sirius cried. "She took my Christmas present away from you?"

As Harry looked at her as innocently as his father used to do and as Sirius gave her a murderous glare, she could only lamely say, "We took it to the manufacturer to have it checked out, that's why it took so long to get it back; but we did return the same broom to you."

"I know because I checked the serial number before and after. I understand Hermione's concern, as misplaced as it was, but I would have thought better of you." He figuratively waved it away, although that didn't remove her guilty feelings that were building.

"Last year was the worst though," Harry told her with a heavy sigh. "I was thrown into the Triwizard Tournament and you didn't really do anything that I could see to prevent my having to participate. To make it worse, when Malfoy came out with his stupid buttons that insulted me, you didn't do anything about that either.

"This year, you didn't stand up for me to be Prefect. I'm glad it made Ron happy, but my grades are better than his, I'm more of a leader, and I am more willing to help out whereas Ron will try to do the least amount of work possible so that Hermione will have to do more than she should.

"I could also mention how much Snape picks on me, and all of the Gryffindors really, and you don't ever try to stop that.

"So no, Professor, other than the one example of you letting me play Quidditch in my first year so you could keep the Quidditch trophy on your desk, I don't think you care about me enough to come find me and try to convince me to return to school."

Minerva considered all that he said for a moment and she felt ashamed he saw it all and her that way. "I suppose I can see why you feel that way, Mr Potter. Please know that I have stopped other abuses and helped you in other ways behind the scenes."

Shaking her head as she realized she was in a no-win situation, she changed her goal. "Sirius, what are you plans then? Will Mr Potter be taking his OWLs with his peers?"

"Yes, Remus and I will be doing the tutoring. However, do you mind if I ask you a few questions along the way?"

She was surprised by his question and that he had thought that far ahead, although she did her best not to show that. "Yes. If you need advice, feel free to ask."

"Thank you," Sirius told her.

Realizing there really wasn't anything more to say, she looked down at Harry once more. "Mr Potter, for what it's worth, you have my sincerest apologies for failing to support you as the Head of Gryffindor. I've never considered the events from your point of view. I've always tried to keep the chaos at school from getting worse and I can see that I've overlooked some details along the way. I wish you well here and if you want to return to Hogwarts next term or next year, please contact me and I'll see that through for you."

"Thank you, Professor," he said graciously.

"Good day and good luck," she said as she left.

Returning to the school, she walked to Gryffindor tower and looked around the common room, quiet because of its lack of students for a few more hours. Taking longer than she probably had, she looked at the Gryffindor coat of arms above the fireplace as she considered Harry's comments to her. She appreciated that he had stated his arguments without anger, which she thought he had a right to do in a few cases. There was no doubt she had failed him outright at those times.

Her mind made up, she left the tower and searched out a colleague. She was younger, only in her mid-30's, and she also only taught an elective without any other administrative duties, giving her more time. "Charity?" she called as she knocked on the open door.

Charity Burbage looked up from her desk and planner. "Yes, Minerva, what can I do for you?"

Minerva walked in and took a seat. There really was very little sugar-coating for this, she thought. "Charity, you're good with students, especially the younger ones."

The younger woman smiled with a little shyness and looked down for a moment. "Thank you," she said as she looked back up.

"I would like to offer you a challenge that I think would be good for you and the students." At Burbage's quizzical look, Minerva said, "I'd like for you to take over as Head of Gryffindor house."

At the shocked look she received, Minerva continued on. "I find that I'm having trouble doing everything that I should and I think I'm not giving the Gryffindors all of the attention that they need. Oh, I realize that you were a Hufflepuff when you went here and that we try to make the Head an alumni of the House, but that's not really a requirement."

"But, but, I wouldn't know where to start and the term starts in a few hours," the woman protested with a hint of panic.

"It will be fine," Minerva told her with a reassuring smile. "I'll help you; we can be co-Heads if you like. I'll even give you the extra pay I receive as a Head of House. I'm sure you'll be doing fine by the end of the first term. Would you like to?"

After a moment of thought, Burbage said, "It does interest me and the extra money could be useful. It's just so sudden!"

"I fully understand. How about we do this as co-Heads this year and see how it goes?"

Burbage nodded slowly. "I do appreciate the offer and the help."

"I really do believe you'll do fine. Let's talk about it more after dinner tonight." Receiving a nod, Minerva stood and left, one task done to make her life a little easier and to help the students. She'd be able to better monitor Snape this way, and this year would also give them Delores Umbridge. She shuddered slightly at that last thought as she hadn't like the woman when Minerva taught her as a student.

"Albus?" she called as she entered his office.

He put his quill down and smiled at her. "You've returned with Harry?"

"No," she told him as she sat. "He will be receiving private tutorship instead of attending Hogwarts this term, as is the right of any student. He did say he'll be taking his OWLs with his peers. Lastly, he said that if that is a concern of yours as a Headmaster, you're welcome to go try to convince him yourself.

"On another topic, as Deputy Headmistress, I've convinced Charity Burbage to take over being the Head of House for Gryffindor. Actually, we'll be co-Heads this year so I can help her, but I'll transfer my pay for that to her as she'll be doing the bulk of the work. I do plan to continue as Deputy Headmistress.

"Unless there is anything else, I need to go do a few things before the students arrive." She looked at his shocked expression with a little amusement while keeping a straight face.

"Just a moment, Minerva. Did you say that you didn't bring Harry Potter back with you?" he asked slowly.

"That is correct." She found it interesting that Potter was the topic he inquired about first.

"I see." He looked thoughtful for a moment before he said quietly, "I wonder who else I can send? Maybe Remus?"

"It's only one student, Albus, one student whom we have failed time and again. I now fully understand his decision and support him," she told him firmly. She decided not to mention Remus's part in Harry's decision; she considered it payback for when Remus pulled so many pranks years ago.

Albus looked at her thoughtfully. "That's why you're giving up as Gryffindor Head of House?"

She mentally winced at his phrasing. "That's why I'm passing it on, because I've failed him and the others more than I should be allowed. As much as I don't wish it, I believe it's time to pass the torch. I also believe I'll do better with only two roles."

When he said nothing more, she stood and left. She was certain Albus thought there was something very special about Potter, but he'd never shared. Well, he could deal with his own problem - he was a grown man.

* * *

Nymphadora Tonks was a troubled young woman. She was twenty-one, fresh out of Auror School, and had a letter in her hands that could potentially make or break her career. There were risks in life, and then there were things like _this_. Taking a deep breath, she walked into the office area of the director of the DMLE.

Looking at the receptionist, she said, "Auror N. Tonks here for her appointment." She almost winced as she realized how stupid she was being since she had her uniform on … of course she was an Auror.

The older woman smiled kindly anyway and said, "Knock and go in; she's ready for you."

Tonks did as she was told, closing the door behind her. A moment later she was standing in front of the director's desk. Moody was scary at times, but this woman scared the living crap out of Tonks for reasons she couldn't quite name but felt deep down.

"Auror Tonks, to what do I owe this pleasure?" asked the husky intense voice of the woman who stared at her from behind her desk sans monocle at the moment.

"D-director, ma'am, I have a special letter for you." Tonks looked down and saw that her hands were empty and panicked for a second in fear that she'd dropped it somewhere. Somehow, she remembered she'd put it in a pocket so she wouldn't drop it. With all haste, she pulled open her outer robe and grabbed the letter, wrinkling it in the process, before thrusting it forward. The director's slightly bemused look didn't help her.

Amelia Bones pulled up her monocle before she took the letter, noting it was addressed to her and then the seal on the back. She stiffened and the amusement was gone in a blink; she was all business now. "How did you get this?"

Tonks forced herself to stand a little straighter, unconsciously morphing a little to make that happen. "By owl, ma'am … this morning."

Bones looked like she wasn't sure if she believed, but she returned to the letter. Picking up her wand, she cast several spells at the envelope. Opening it with her wand, she then cast some more spells on the letter inside before a final spell pulled it out. With care not to touch it anyway, she spread it open and read.

Leaning back in her chair, Bones looked at her as if trying to divine something, causing Tonks to have to actively hold herself still and not fidget - or worse, run.

"Auror Tonks, you are not on the investigation team for the Sirius Black case. You also did not give it to the leader of that team. So why do you bring this to me instead of him?"

Tonks forced her skin to change ever so slightly so she wouldn't sweat as she had no ready answer for this. Going for the truth, she said, "Because he asked me to in the letter that came with that." Her hand jerkily indicated the letter on the desk. "I'm an Auror and I'm family. He wanted it to go to the top, to you, as fast as possible."

Bones nodded. "Do you know what this letter says?"

"Err, approximately. I believe it says that he's innocent, didn't have a trial, and is hopeful you'll give him an honest one." Tonks thought that covered it, but she was having trouble remembering being on the spot as she was at the moment.

"Close enough," the director agreed before looking at the clock on the wall. "Go find Shacklebolt and tell him I want his arse in front of my desk in the next five minutes … unless he'd like to patrol Knockturn Alley - alone."

"Yes, Director!" Tonks turned and almost ran for the door.

"And Auror Tonks?"

Fear gripped her one last time, forcing her to let go of the door handle to safety so she could turn around.

"Good job in bringing this to my attention. Go…"

Tonks fled, happy to leave with the praise. Despite her relief at surviving the director, she knew she was throwing Kingsley to the wolves, perhaps literally. She'd warn him and apologize; hopefully, it'd be good enough not to get on his bad side.

She was also hopeful for Sirius.

— — —

Harry and Sirius looked at each other and grinned. It was just the two of them having dinner; Remus wasn't due until late that evening.

"It's not fancy, but it'll hold us," Sirius told him.

Harry looked at the dishes of food on the table; there was only one vegetable: carrots. "Yeah, it will. I can also see that I'll need to cook. You really only did leftovers."

Sirius speared the last slice of ham after Harry had taken his portion. "I'll make you a deal. You cook and I'll clean."

"And Remus does the shopping while Kreacher does the rest of the cleaning?" Harry asked.

"Sounds good to me. You know, we're not out of the woods yet." Sirius gave him a pointed look.

"I know, no Mrs Weasley yet."

"Tomorrow night, probably," Sirius told him. "Supposed to be an Order meeting so I'll hear about it then. I'd suggest you stay in your room for that; I'll fill you in later on the important bits."

"Thanks!" Harry replied as he decided at least a few carrots would be good for him, despite them being one of his least favorite vegetables.

* * *

Harry smiled as he heard "Sirius Black!" shouted, despite the fact that he was at the top of the stairs two floors up. He supposed this would be Sirius's punishment for running out on him when he was a baby. He knew this whole 'Harry skives Hogwarts' thing was his idea, but Sirius was the adult - or he was supposed to be - and he should be able to handle this.

On the other hand, Harry had his fair share of issues at the moment. He had a set of letters delivered this morning that he was going through again, this time to ensure he was answering all of the questions in them.

The twins had sent a short one telling him good job on the prank, although they'd miss him during Quidditch games. No real surprise there.

Ginny had also been supportive. She said she'd miss him but that he needed to do what was best for him and that he'd probably made a good choice. Their Defense professor this year seemed like she'd be another bad one, but she'd let him know for sure later. She also thanked him for the chance to play Seeker, but told him the spot was his if he came back because she preferred Chaser.

Ron's was the most interesting, he thought. Ron said he was upset Harry had lied to him and for making him deal with Hermione by himself - that last bit made Harry smile while the first part made him feel guilty. Ron also pointed out that Harry couldn't play Quidditch and the team would suffer, so he needed to return to Hogwarts as soon as possible.

Harry decided he needed to point out to Ron that he had a family and Harry hadn't really had one for as long as he had memories. He wondered if Ron would truly understand Harry's desire and feelings on the matter - probably not he thought.

Then there was Hermione. Her attempt to guilt him into coming to Hogwarts was blatant, but that was predictable for her. After he apologized for misleading her about the train trip, he'd point out that he'd have individualized lessons, so he thought he'd do well with schoolwork. He also wanted to point out to her that he wouldn't have to deal with that Umbridge character they'd heard about (and Ginny's letter did not describe in flattering terms based on her speech at the Feast). Yes, Hermione's letter would take a little more care when he replied.

A couple of hours later as he was finishing those up so he could send them out with Hedwig tonight, he heard noises of the Order meeting breaking up. He decided to glance over Hermione's one more time to make sure he had all of his explanations listed, especially the learning opportunities.

The voice of Molly Weasley broke his thoughts. "Harry Potter!"

He looked down through the stair rail and saw her one landing below and scowling up at him. "Yes, Mrs Weasley?" Sirius walked into view behind her so quietly she didn't seem to notice; he did not look pleased.

"Go get your things so I can take you to Hogwarts. You can't be missing your education," she berated him.

He supposed he wasn't surprised to hear that from her and strongly suspected this was the cause of Sirius's scowl. He didn't budge from his sitting position as he did his best to remember his predetermined answer for this situation. "Mrs Weasley, I appreciate your welcoming me into your home the last few summers and for the jumpers you've knit for me at Christmas, but you're not my guardian; Sirius is.

"In addition, my education isn't being ignored; I'll be tutored by two wizards who have passed their NEWTs and one of them was a professor at Hogwarts. Should you believe there is a subject you can teach better than one of them, let them know and they might work you into the lesson schedule."

Sirius looked shocked at that last idea for a brief moment before his expression turned into one of admiration.

She stood there silently and glaring at him, as if trying to will him to move and do her bidding. Harry thought that would have worked as little as a week ago, but not now that Sirius had agreed with his plan and started on it.

"Unless there's anything else, please give my regards to your husband. Perhaps he can visit next time," he told her. Sirius slapped his hand over his mouth quietly and turned, leaving the scene before he was caught by her.

Molly Weasley finally turned with a disgruntled huff and stalked away.

A few moment later, Sirius returned and came up the stairs with a pleased look. "Shall we?" He gestured towards Harry's bedroom.

Inside, Sirius conjured a chair while Harry took the one chair permanently in the room. "Remus will be up in a while. He's getting teaching tips for Potions from Snape, if you can believe that." He barked in laughter. "I think Snape is the only person who's happy you didn't return to Hogwarts."

Harry chuckled.

"In fact, most of the meeting was about you not going to school and what that means." Sirius shook his head. "Albus did his best disappointed routine, but we ignored it and his thoughts about how you had to return to Hogwarts." He smiled. "Albus was also put out when Remus said he wouldn't be going back to talk to the werewolf packs unless there was good news, like the anti-werewolf laws were repealed or something of that importance. Truly amusing…"

When he seemed to be lost in thought, Harry asked, "So no other important bits?"

Sirius looked at him for a moment. "I won't say, actually can't say because I don't fully know, but there is something important at the Ministry. Albus thinks we need to guard it and it's on a need-to-know basis. Obviously," he rolled his eyes, "I don't need to know. But based on a few loose lips, it sounds like it's in the Department of Mysteries. I'll let you know when I find out more."

"All right, sounds good," Harry replied with a nod as he committed that to memory.

"Also, sorry about Molly. I tried to stop her, but she pushed past me," he said a little sheepishly. "I also didn't expect you to be so accessible."

Harry grinned. "I wanted to be close enough in case any good shouting happened, but don't worry about her. Like I told her, I really do appreciate her but she's not my mother."

Sirius grinned back. "I really liked your comment about her _possibly_ being a tutor. It was a good way to shut her up. I don't think there's anything she could teach better than when you put Remus and I together, but it was a good way to placate her … very smart."

"I got lucky." Harry looked at the stack of letters in his hand and decided they were probably about as good as they were going to get. "If you don't mind, I'd like to mail these tonight."

"Go ahead and then head to bed. We're going to start early tomorrow morning." Sirius stood. "I so wished your parents were here. They'd be so proud of you. Also, there was nothing that could stop us when we worked together. Seventh year was such a blast."

While Sirius left thinking of his past, Harry considered his godfather. At the end, he decided that it was good Sirius wasn't staying in the house by himself with just Kreacher. As for himself, he was certainly accomplishing one of his goals.

* * *

(A/N: Yes, I probably am changing things a little in regards to what Sirius knows about the Department of Mysteries as compared to the books, but it will all work out. :)


	3. Chapter 3

(A/N: Thank you everyone for all the nice reviews. :)

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

It was the third day of the fall term and the first staff meeting after classes had started.

Minerva looked at the young woman who sat down next to her. "Charity, it looks to me like you're getting a good handle on the job. Do you think being Head of House is working for you?"

Burbage puffed up in pride before leaning over to talk in a conspiratorial whisper. "Yes, I think I'm starting to get a handle on it. Besides your help, I've also talked with Filius and Pomona for a few minutes to get some ideas."

"I noticed you left someone out of that list," Minerva said quietly and with a hint of amusement.

"I'll consider him later, maybe." Each chuckled quietly and then broke off the conversation when most of the staff walked in.

Albus came in last as usual. "Are there any emergencies that need to be addressed first?" he asked as he took his seat.

"Why isn't Potter in class?" Delores Umbridge asked a little shrilly, glaring at the Headmaster as if it was his fault.

Minerva sat back to observe the staff. Most didn't seem to care. Snape let a very brief expression of pleasure, or what passed for that for the dour man, come over him before his normal mask returned. The only other obvious reaction was from Filius, who shook his head slightly at the loss.

Albus looked his usual unflappable self, even though Minerva knew he was upset about the subject. "Delores, I can not force a student to attend this school. To the best of my knowledge, Mr Potter is pursuing his education in another environment that is within the law. I'm sure you'll appreciate not having to defend against his views … or his wand."

That last bit surprised Minerva and she wondered where Albus was going with that.

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?" Umbridge demanded.

"I thought it was well known that you don't believe him in regards to Voldemort's return," Albus returned.

" _ **I**_ ," she emphasized, "am the teacher, I have no need to defend against his fictional stories. What did you mean by defending against his wand?"

"Harry Potter is the best student in Defense Against the Dark Arts in his year and probably the among the sixth years also. He would also beat most of the seventh years too. You would have your hand full with him in class, so enjoy that he is not present."

Umbridge looked angry for a moment before her expression changed. "Yes, you have a point that I won't have to put up with his idiocy."

Minerva was about to defend her former student when she saw a very subtle shake from Dumbledore and she recognized he was diverting the woman.

"A victory for you then. Any other urgent matters before we address the usual agenda?" Albus asked. "No? Then let's address student attendance this week, starting with those who have missed class because of sickness. Madam Pomfrey?"

* * *

Harry read the letter from Hermione while he ate breakfast. From her description, it sounded like Umbridge really was someone to be avoided. Ginny's letter had called Umbridge a lying hag. Worse, it seemed Malfoy was making a move to lord it over others and to spread the Pureblood prejudice - both with Umbridge's silent blessing. In a comment he would have expected from Ron, Hermione said that the friction between Gryffindors and Slytherins was rising.

"What's up?" Sirius asked when he entered the kitchen and as Harry was considering the letter he was holding.

"Stuff from school, but the biggest issue is Ron," Harry said, lifting the letter to indicate it. "Hermione and Ginny forgave me for my misdirection after I explained it to them. They each gave me a piece of their mind about how I did it, but they're all right with it because they understand I want to be with you. Hermione also seemed to give in since Remus is tutoring me."

Sirius chuckled. "Meaning she doesn't think I would?"

"Probably," Harry told him with a small grin, "or at least not to her standard."

"I guess I can understand that," the man said as he grabbed a plate for breakfast. "I didn't set the best example over the summer."

"Maybe, maybe not," Harry replied with a shrug, "but I don't think Ron really understands how I feel because he's always had a family."

"And he feels betrayed by you not being there." Sirius finished for him.

"Yeah, I guess so. He's also not happy because I'm not there to play Quidditch and he's blaming me for Gryffindor's losses even though they haven't played any games yet." Harry snorted at that.

Sirius shook his head. "Don't give up and be patient with him. I'm sure he'll come around given time."

"I hope so," Harry said a little wistfully. "Hermione also says he's starting to spend more time with the other boys rather than with her."

"How do you feel about that?" Sirius asked.

Harry considered it for a moment. "I think it might be good for him to expand his circle of friends. Although, I do wonder if Hermione is making him, at least a little, because they might fight a lot more otherwise." They both chuckled at that idea.

With breakfast done, they went upstairs for today's lesson. As they were about to get started, Sirius's owl pecked on the window. Sirius brought him inside and retrieved the letter.

"What?" Harry asked as Sirius expression turned more shocked as he read.

"I … I, uh … I'm getting a trial next week."

Harry rushed over as his godfather sank heavily into the seat behind him. "That's great!"

Sirius looked down at the letter and then handed it over. "You'd think so, but I'm also taking a big risk."

Harry saw it was signed by Director Bones herself. It also stressed the need for secrecy.

"My biggest fear though is that there's also a risk to you," Sirius told him, looking down.

"What? How?" Harry couldn't figure it out.

Sirius pulled a chair over for Harry to sit down. "Listen, I need to keep you away from this case as much as possible."

"But I can help. I saw Pettigrew!" Harry insisted, he knew he could help Sirius.

"You did," Sirius agreed, "but there at least two problems. First, Fudge and his cronies have been doing their best, and it's been a good job so far, of smearing your reputation for the last few months."

"I know, but it's not that bad," Harry replied.

"Perhaps not, but it also probably won't help. The worst part is that is that you'd probably be asked if you know where I've been and you'd have to say yes. That would allow them to charge you with giving an escapee aid, possibly landing you in Azkaban. No Harry, I can't let that happen to you."

"But…"

"There's also the problem that you and your friends are minors. It's not against the law to use your testimony, but the Wizengamot would probably dismiss it just because you are, or at least Fudge would say you should be ignored."

"What about Remus?" Harry demanded.

"Have you forgotten how many anti-werewolf laws there are?" After a pause, Sirius said, "I can still win with Veritaserum, assuming they let me take it; but I really need Pettigrew alive to easily beat this and we won't have him … unless a miracle occurs. I'm sorry, kiddo, but that's the truth."

Harry looked at him with determination. "We'll beat this. You'll be free," he swore.

"I do plan to beat it anyway." Sirius promised before he sighed. "Well, enough of that at the moment, let's talk about Transfiguration. Your dad was amazing with this, but I'm no slouch, so let's look at the next chapter. Then we'll do the usual and consider how this can be used for pranking."

Harry smiled. He always liked practical magic and Sirius's way of looking at the pranking opportunities was always fun. In addition, Sirius usually threw in stories about his parents.

* * *

As they ate dinner a few nights later, Harry looked at Remus and then at Sirius. "Do you have the explanation for only the finger?"

Sirius smiled grimly. "Yes, Harry, I have everything we talked about." He patted his pocket. "You take care of the dishes and by the time you're done I should be back, or maybe a little longer." He held up his hand to stop the protest Harry was about to make. "I promise I'll be careful and Remus will be with me to help protect me too. And … at the first sign of trouble I _**promise**_ to Apparate home immediately."

Harry hung his head and played with his food a little more; he'd eaten very little because of his nerves. "I just want you to come back; I don't want to lose you now that we've finally started to really get to know each other."

Sirius stood and took the couple of steps over, reaching out with a hug which Harry gladly accepted. "I know, Harry; I've deeply enjoyed our time and I want it to continue for years to come, but my being free will make it better for both of us. Keep yourself busy, do homework if you must, and I'll be back before you know it … definitely before bedtime. All right?"

"Sure," Harry agreed with a nod as the two let go of each other.

With a last pat on Harry's back, Sirius nodded towards the door while looking at his old friend. The two headed out for the barrister's office to prepare for his trial while Harry forced himself to finish dinner.

An hour later, the kitchen was spotless and the two men still weren't home. Harry headed upstairs, looking around and really taking notice of the house since he had time. He had to admit that Kreacher had made the house look better. Oh, carpets were still threadbare in places and some spots on the walls needed some new paint, but overall the house was now clean. With a smile, he remembered that even Molly Weasley had commented on it last time she'd been here for an Order meeting.

He sighed as he trudged up the stairs. Harry still wasn't sure what to think about Dumbledore and the Order. Dumbledore was still avoiding him, which was highly annoying yet it did make his life a little easier at the moment.

As for the Order, even with major news of it from Sirius, it didn't seem like they did much. Sirius had finally found out for certain that the secret missions were to guard something in the Department of Mysteries; they suspected it was a prophecy based on what he and Remus had overheard. That wasn't a big deal until Remus had speculated that if the prophecy was about Harry then several things from James and Lily's actions in 1981 to Dumbledore's actions now made more sense. None of the three liked that one bit, although they were in agreement it was probably the answer and also explained why Dumbledore kept Sirius and Remus in the dark about the guarding activity.

Flopping down on his bed and leaning against the wall, he stared at the two posters on the wall across the room. With an amused grin, he wondered what Sirius's parents had thought about them. Perhaps he'd ask Sirius later, but he suspected it was a combination of scandalized at the girls' almost lack of clothes versus didn't care because they were Muggles.

As he enjoyed the pictures for a moment, it made him wonder about the girls at Hogwarts. There were moments where he thought that having a girlfriend would be nice; yet there were also times he thought one would make his life more difficult too, so perhaps it was best he didn't have one now. He really didn't have the time. But if he did, who would he pick?

A few minutes of contemplation left him not much more decided other than he thought he wouldn't pick Hermione. He did love her but she felt more like what he thought a sister or cousin would be like. As for the rest of the girls at school, they all had their positives and negatives, but none stood out at the moment.

Well, he did like long hair on a girl and Cho looked nice, as did Ginny. Then there was that Slytherin with long blonde hair … Greengrass he finally remembered. He supposed maybe a few of them did stand out at least a little.

Shaking his head to clear those thoughts, he reached over to his desk and grabbed his Transfiguration book, knowing he needed to revise more in that subject.

— — —

He was about to drop off to sleep - it was so late - when he heard the door below slam. Harry dropped his book and ran out of his open door wand in hand. As he reached the top of the stairs and looked down, he saw Sirius looking up at him from two floors below. "It's about time," he said a little testily.

"I know, sorry." Sirius waved him down before turning.

Racing down the stairs, Harry caught up with him as Sirius dropped into a seat at the kitchen table. Remus was pouring tea before adding a splash from a bottle that Sirius had promised not to touch.

"That bad?" Harry asked a little fearfully.

"That tiring and frustrating," Sirius sighed before taking a drink and turning to his old friend. "A little more 'pick me up'?"

"No," Remus said as he looked at Harry, who gave him an agreeing nod. "It wasn't all that bad, Harry, just a long night with lots of arguing."

"Why?"

"Because the law is eff'ing complicated," Sirius growled. "You'd think there would be one set of books with all the current laws, but no. Instead, you have to know the old laws and then put the new ones on top, striking out portions and adding new sections. There is no one set of books with 'here's all the law in its current form' … bah!" He looked at the bottle on the other side of Remus longingly, but said nothing as he settled for a long sip of his slightly spiked tea.

"But what did the barrister say?" Harry pressed.

Sirius sat up a little straighter. "Well, given that I know what evidence the Ministry has, assuming Kingsley Shacklebolt has told me everything, then Bradford - the barrister - thought the arguments we've come up with over the last week are fairly sound and should make a good case … not air-tight, mind you, just good. Also, the Ministry _shouldn't_ have much to prove I did anything illegal."

"What he's trying to gloss over," Remus added, "is that while the facts that can be proved are on our side, the Wizengamot has been known to ignore facts for political reasons. That's especially true with Fudge as Minister." At Harry's angry expression, Remus added, "But we have hope as Bones is as trustworthy as they come and she's indicated that she wants to see the law upheld with a fair trial. Bradford thinks that gives us at least a fifty-fifty chance, but probably better … especially if Bones will fully assert her authority."

"Not that I fully want to bet my life on that, but it's better than rotting away here. We just need a little more … something, to guarantee winning," Sirius grumbled.

"What if Hermione, Ron, and I-"

"Same answer as before," Sirius stopped him tiredly. "Bones will probably listen to your testimony privately, but Fudge will do his best to prevent that in court."

"But Bones can force it," Remus said.

"If she thinks she can survive the political battle," Sirius said as if he didn't believe it would happen. "It's late, I'm going to bed." He drained his tea before looking at Harry. "Don't give up, I haven't. I'm just very tired right now. All right?"

"Yeah," Harry answered as he stood and trudged up to bed, not even the posters helped his mood one bit. There had to be a way for him to help Sirius, he thought as he readied for bed.

* * *

Three days before the trial, there was an Order meeting. Grabbing a small box, Harry made his way to the top of the stairs and waited, concentrating on hearing a single voice. When he did, Harry called, "Kreacher."

"Yes," Kreacher answered when he popped in, looking surly but obeying because Sirius had forced the elf to do so.

"Please take this note to Kingsley Shacklebolt within the next few minutes. Do your best not to be seen."

The elf took the note and popped away. Harry put his Invisibility Cloak on and made his way down the stairs to the dining room. He didn't think anyone else would come along, but he really didn't want to be seen by anyone else. Once in place, he dropped the hood of his special cloak and waited. He grinned to himself as he realized he was doing "the floating head" trick that he had done the first time he'd put the cloak on.

Shacklebolt walked in a couple of minutes later, checking for watchers before he ducked in. His surprise at seeing only Harry's head was obvious, but he schooled his expression quickly. "What's so important?" he asked, his voice deep and quiet.

"You know the secret of what will happen in a few days?" he asked even more quietly. At Shacklebolt's nod, Harry shoved a small box forward from under his cloak, almost pushing it into the man. "We don't think Fudge would let us present this, but maybe it will help you get Sirius free."

As the Senior Auror took the box, Harry put a finger to his lips and breathed, "Shush", before pulling his cloak back over his head quickly and leaving. The surprise on the man's face from the encounter was a little amusing to Harry.

That done, he left to do one more thing to help Sirius, or so he hoped.

— — —

Shacklebolt wasn't sure what to think about the "cloak and dagger" bit, or at least the "cloak" part, but he was learning - slowly - not to underestimate Harry Potter based on the stories he'd heard. Sliding open the top of the box, he saw several small potion phials. He instantly recognized that they held memories. His curiosity to see them was so overwhelming he almost left the meeting immediately, but he contained himself and slid the small box into an inner pocket of his robes before returning to the kitchen where the meeting would be held.

As he sat, he watched Sirius talk to Lupin for a moment. He knew about the upcoming trial for the man. In many ways, he was glad this travesty of justice was about to come to an end. On the other hand, he had no idea how Black thought he could win the trial, at least in regards to most of the charges. One of the charges was easily beatable. Fudge had tried to make it hard on Black, even to the point of ignoring the fact that Black had never had a trial and containing the information.

Then there was the secrecy of it all that he didn't understand. In fact, he and Tonks - the only other Auror who knew about this or so he thought - had been sworn to secrecy by Director Bones herself.

To add to all the drama, now Harry Potter was getting himself involved and apparently didn't want Black - and probably Lupin he decided - to know. Damn this was getting complicated!

By the end, he wasn't surprised to find that he hadn't paid much attention to the meeting because he kept trying to figure out what everyone was doing and why. The best he could do at the moment was to come up with vague guesses that didn't work well together.

Thankfully, the meeting was short so when it was over, he bade a few hasty good-byes and immediately took the Floo to the Ministry. With care and yet walking as fast as he could without running, he made his way to the DMLE. He saw a crack of light from under the door to Bones's office and smiled at his good luck. Then again, she worked late frequently.

He knocked quietly on the door twice and glanced around nervously, glad he didn't see anyone on the night shift looking his way. The door opened slightly and a wand appeared, aimed at his face. After a couple of seconds, the door opened further and he hurried in.

"It's not like you to come back and especially at this time of night," Amelia Bones told him with concern.

"Put up every privacy spell you can. My best guess says this will be sensitive," he told her.

She raised an eyebrow in surprise but did as he asked.

"We'll need your Pensieve."

Another surprised look came, but she again did as he asked and placed it on her desk.

He had the box out and open. He found there were actually four phials and a note under them. Opening the note, he read it out loud. " _I'm told we probably won't be allowed to show these memories, but here's proof and we can share our testimonies of these same events. I hope you won't turn a blind eye too. One and two go together, they are from the end of my 3rd year, or a little over a year ago. Three and four go together, they are from the end of my fourth year, or a few months ago._ "

Dropping the unsigned note on the desk, he added, "These were given to me by Harry Potter."

"This is a big surprise." She looked at him for a moment. "I'm sorry to have to ask this, but do you know where Black is right now, since he's Potter's godfather?"

He picked up and looked at the phial marked "1" carefully as he considered what to say, since he was in charge of the hunt for Black. "I've tracked him and know he's in London, but I swear I can't tell you where exactly. There is powerful magic at work hiding him."

Amelia looked at him carefully for a moment before nodding and raising her hand to indicate the Pensieve was waiting.

Relieved that she wasn't pursuing that line of questions about him, he dumped the phials marked "1" and "2" into the Pensieve before they entered.

The first memory of the set showed who Shacklebolt knew was Ron Weasley be dragged to a tunnel under the Whomping Willow and then Harry Potter and Hermione Granger going after them. They watched the confession and the memory stopped when Pettigrew ran off while Black was protecting the children from the werewolf.

The second memory was much shorter, starting when Harry appeared to be waking up, a hot debate about their story, ending with a private conversation with Dumbledore saying he couldn't help Black because he couldn't make others see the truth or overrule the Minister.

When they came out of the Pensieve, Shacklebolt took a step back in his own defense. He'd never seen the Director look that angry before.

"Fudge was told and he never mentioned a single bit of that me! The idiot! How are we supposed to do our job when he withholds vital information?"

Kingsley ignored the mutterings thereafter as he didn't want her ire directed at him. Personally, he was astounded at the verification of the much barer story that he'd heard, not to mention that he'd learned a few things.

"Thoughts?" she barked at him, almost causing him to jump.

"That … that explains a few things I never considered before, especially what happened back in '81. I think I also now understand the request not to tell Dumbledore." At her nod, he decided to ask his question from earlier. "Do you know why Black is pushing for a trial now?"

Bones dropped into her chair and reached for a small cloth on her desk. Slowly and meticulously, she cleaned her monocle, forcing him to wait a little impatiently as she ordered her thoughts. "Not really, but my guess is because of Potter. Black really is Potter's godfather. I know for a fact that Potter did not return to Hogwarts this year, which makes you wonder where he's staying, but the obvious place would be with Black." She gave him a hard look.

Shacklebolt was back in the hot seat, he knew. He did his best to not move a muscle. After a few seconds that seemed to stretch into near eternity, she waved at the Pensieve. "Let's look at the last two."

Grateful for the reprieve and trying to act like nothing was wrong yet knowing he was probably failing to hide his stress and relief, he put the first two memories back and poured the next two in. He had a good idea what at least the first one was and he wasn't sure he was looking forward to it.

The first of this set started with Potter and the Diggory boy fighting a large Acromantula, arguing over taking the trophy to end the Triwizard Tournament, then landing in a graveyard. Kingsley had to forcibly remind himself not to run and that this was just a memory as he watched You-Know-Who be reborn. The fight was interesting, but he also noticed Bones was paying more attention to those who had been called and he decided he would watch this a second time later to focus on those people.

His respect for Potter rose several levels during the fight.

Surprisingly, the memory did not end when Potter returned to Hogwarts but kept going. After watching the confession from Crouch Jr, he understood; the memory ended there.

The last memory started a little fuzzy but cleared up almost instantly. Potter was in bed and obviously had been woken. The memory showed the entire conversation with Fudge, ending when Fudge left.

If Kingsley thought Bones had been angry before, he decided he was badly mistaken as he listened to her diatribe against Fudge and his lunacy. He was certain that if Fudge was in the room right now, he might not survive what Bones would do to him and he was absolutely certain it would be slow and with painful spells as she used very small words to explain why he was such an idiot.

Despite the fact that he seemed to have been ignored for the last few minutes while she vented, he saw that she still knew he was there because she pulled out two small glasses - that were slammed on the desk - and some Firewhisky was splashed into each. She drained hers in a single gulp. Kingsley decided to sip his as it gave his slightly shaking hands something to do.

"The whole thing is madness," he finally whispered before taking another sip.

Bones refilled her glass but didn't immediately drink this time. "It is, and yet I find it very believable. It also explains our _Minister's_ ," she spat his title, "actions for the last few months in regards to what I've seen in the Daily Prophet very well … the small-minded and cowardly imbecile!"

Kingsley took another sip. "I'm still at a loss as to why Black is pushing for this though. While I think Dumbledore was wrong not to do something, I can see his point that he can't make others believe and he obviously knows Fudge well enough to know that Fudge would fight this every step of the way. Again, he's right that no one will believe students that young and Lupin will be ignored because of his condition. The only other witness - Diggory - is dead. All the provable evidence is against him, so I still don't understand Black's angle."

Bones looked at him very thoughtfully. The sharp rhythmic clicking of one nail on her desktop reinforced the idea to leave her alone to think.

At last she asked, "Do you believe Black told Potter to give you those memories?"

"No. Nor do I think Black knows," he told her. "Black is taking a huge risk without Pettigrew in hand." It wasn't until after he'd answered that he realized he'd confirmed to her that Potter was with Black and he knew about it all. Internally, he froze at the realization of his goof and hoped for the best.

Bones downed the rest of her drink before gently setting it on her desk. "I can think of at least one way that this helps him greatly. I wished I could be sure it's what Potter is thinking."

"What?"

"You've shown me all the evidence against Black?"

He was relieved she was letting his admission go, but disappointed to still not get an answer to his question. "Yes, Director."

"Any evidence that helps him, other than these memories?"

"No, Director."

"Then I'll have to help him as best I can because I want to see justice done here and to prevent as many deaths as I can in the war that I know is coming."

"But how?" He was getting really tired of not getting an answer to his question, but she was his supervisor, or really is supervisor's supervisor, so what could he do?

"You're not seeing the big picture, as they say," she told him with a predatory smile that made him glad it wasn't directed at him.

* * *

"Rufus, Shacklebolt, come in," Bones told the two after they'd knocked on the door to her office.

When the two were seated, Bones handed a folder to Rufus Scrimgeour. "In addition to the two trials planned for tomorrow, you'll have to prosecute this third one too."

"Oh, why the late notice?" he asked.

"There's not much to go over and I've been keeping this secret. Sorry, Rufus, but the fewer in the know until the last minute the better in this case," she told him.

As he finished reading the title of the case, he looked up in alarm. "Sirius Black?" He looked at Shacklebolt. "You caught him?"

"Actually, he turned himself in," Bones answered. "He pointed out that he'd never had a trial and after doing a little research, I found that he was correct. So we're going to rectify that oversight."

"It was war time," Scrimgeour pointed out.

"True, but even then, trials are supposed to be held and there are still time limits for them, even if the time limit is longer." Bones sighed. "I do wish that Bagnold and Crouch were still around to ask what happened, but it really doesn't matter now."

Scrimgeour grunted in agreement as he continued to look over the material, with the other two letting him. When he finished the second page, he lifted it to find no more. "This is it?" he asked with great surprise.

"Yes, interesting, isn't it?" she half-said half-asked. "Shacklebolt is available to you this evening to answer any questions you have. There are two more bits of evidence that I'm aware of, but I don't believe you'll want to use them."

"Why not?" he asked a little testily.

"Because they prove that Black is innocent of one of the five charges against him and indirectly clears him of the other four, at least if the defense is smart about it." She smiled so calmly it was obvious she was up to something.

"Then why are we doing this?" After a moment of Bones just looking at him, Scrimgeour finally said, "Fudge." At her nod he muttered darkly.

"Do your best, Rufus, but I want to see justice tomorrow … nothing underhanded either. I'll be running the trial to help that out. Any other questions?" she asked.

"No, other than I want to see the other evidence not in this folder," he replied as he stood.

Bones pulled out and placed four phials on her desk and well as a rock bowl. "The department Pensieve and copies of a few memories. You can watch them here; they don't leave the room. Also, you don't talk about this case to anyone before Black is brought into the courtroom."

Scrimgeour nodded as he put the memories in the bowl and entered. He was swearing when he exited. An amused Amelia Bones retrieved the memories and put it all away as the Head Auror ordered Kingsley Shacklebolt to follow him to his office to prepare for the trial.

* * *

(A/N: I want to give a nod to jrock919 who pointed out a very interesting question I'd never considered. How did Shacklebolt deal with Black never having a trial? Surely he could/should have known and passed it up the chain of command. I dealt with it by having Fudge actively contain the knowledge but Shacklebolt still could have told Bones and it seemed like he didn't. Or maybe Bones was told in the books and knew she couldn't do anything about it. I'm not sure what JKR thought about this other than she wanted/needed Sirius to be dead.)


	4. Chapter 4

(A/N: Thanks the continuing kind reviews. We'll see what the lawyers out there think of this one.)

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

Very early on the day of the trial, Shacklebolt and Tonks came to the house. Cuffs were placed on Sirius before his hood was pulled up.

"Sirius?" Harry moved forward, putting a hand on the man's arm while he really wanted to give him one last hug.

"I'll be fine," Sirius told him. "We're going in before most of the workers arrive and I'll be in Bones's office until it's time for the trial. Fudge won't hesitate to act against you, so whatever happens, don't cause any problems, understand?"

Harry nodded, understanding but not liking it.

"Don't worry though, it'll work out." He looked at his old friend. "Take care of Harry and be there."

"I promise I'll take care of everything," Remus assured him.

Sirius gave a gruff, "Let's go and get this over with." The three left through the Floo.

Harry looked at Remus. "I hate waiting for stuff like this."

"Me too."

Harry was also dreading meeting Ron. They had patched things up, but at times Ron could be such a … drama queen, he thought with amusement.

— — —

Harry sat in the visitor's gallery for courtroom ten, the same courtroom he'd had his trial in a few months ago. Remus was beside him for the moment. Neither were feeling any better, their nerves wouldn't let them.

"It'll be all right, Harry," Remus told him quietly. "He has a good defense."

"I know, I helped work on it too, but that's not my only worry."

"Oh? What else is there?" Remus asked.

"Ron. We've mostly worked things out, but it's the mostly I'm worried about."

"I'm sure it will work out given a little time," Remus assured him with a pat on the back.

At the sound of quick footsteps, Remus looked over his shoulder and smiled as he stood and moved down the row towards the other aisle.

Harry looked over to see what was going on and managed to stand and smile just before his brunette friend almost knocked him over in her haste to get there. Hermione wrapped him in a tight hug which helped to steady him. "Harry!" she all but squealed in his ear. Her enthusiasm brightened his mood and encouraged him to hug her back.

"How are you doing?" he asked.

"Well. How are you doing?"

"If I ignore my nerves, then very well and it really is good to see you," he told her as they each finally let go. He turned a little and saw Ron scowling at him. "Mate, how are you doing?"

Ron walked up slowly and looked at him. "All right, I suppose. You?"

"I'm doing well. It's really good to see you too. I've missed you, each of you," Harry told them. Hermione beamed while Ron looked skeptical.

He turned back to Hermione. "I know it's not for a few days, but Happy Birthday."

"Thanks, Harry."

"You'll have to wait for your present though; I'll send it to you at school."

"You don't have to send me one, but thank you anyway," she told him looking pleased that he'd remembered her birthday.

Harry looked to the other side and saw Remus talking with McGonagall. At his pointed look, Remus understood and cast a privacy spell on the three of them.

"There, now we can talk privately and I've got something important to tell you." Harry pulled them into seats, Hermione on his left and Ron on his right. "Did McGonagall tell you why you were brought here?"

"She said that she was told it was important," Hermione replied, "but it seemed like she didn't know and I got the feeling she almost didn't bring us." Ron looked as clueless. "Do you know?" she asked.

"Yes, and I want you to know so you aren't surprised." Harry looked at each of them seriously. "Sirius is going to have his trial today."

"What?!" they both almost shouted, making Harry glad for the privacy spell.

"Yeah, and it's been very secret so nothing weird or underhanded happens," Harry said. "Now, we don't know if it will happen, but there's a chance you'll be called on in the trial to tell what happened at the end of third year. It's very, very, very important that you don't say the first thing that comes to mind and go on and on, but think about the question and answer with as few words as possible."

"Makes sense," Hermione said with a thoughtful nod. "They might try to twist our words."

"Right." Harry looked at his other friend. "Ron, do you understand how important this is?"

"Sure, Harry, whatever," Ron answered, seemingly without a care.

"Ron!" Hermione hissed at his dismissal.

He shrugged then turned to look at the courtroom causing Harry to almost lose his temper. "Ron!" Harry growled and grabbed his friend's shoulder to pull him back around, causing Ron to look angry. "Ron," Harry said a little more calmly but not much, "this is really important. If they call you up there and you say the wrong thing, then Sirius could die!"

Ron blinked and looked taken aback, but he didn't argue or dismiss Harry this time.

"Imagine that it's your dad on trial because they think he murdered someone; they're wrong, but he's still on trial for it anyway. If I was called up and said the wrong thing, then your dad would get kissed by a Dementor. Would that be all right with you? That's how serious this is.

"And Ron, I know Sirius isn't my dad, but he's the closest person I've ever had that's like a dad. I," Harry faltered for a moment, "I can't lose him; I just can't lose him."

A paler than normal Ron finally nodded. "I understand, Harry. I'll take it seriously. Think and short answer."

Harry loosened his grip and slapped his friend on the shoulder, which Ron returned. "Thanks, mate."

Ron nodded and looked down for a moment. "Harry, I, uh, listen, it hurt when you didn't come to school with us, but I guess I can understand now." He looked out and watched the Wizengamot members start to file in. "I miss you being around, Harry," he said suddenly, not quite able to look at Harry.

"I miss you too, Ron." Harry patted him on the shoulder again, which Ron returned and finally looked at him with his normal goofy look. Hermione reached over and put a hand on each and smiled.

Harry waved at Remus who took the spell off of them. "Professor," Harry intoned with a respectful nod.

"Mr Potter," she returned. "I trust your studies are going well?"

"Yes, ma'am. Uh, they both have been doing well as teachers." He'd almost said Sirius's name and that would have been bad if the wrong person heard.

"Very good," McGonagall replied. "I was just telling Remus that I'm not sure it was wise to keep some of us in the dark about this, but I can understand the reasoning."

While the crowd to view the trials wasn't large, they noticed that Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy walked in and took a seat.

"What's he doing here?" Ron whispered venomously.

"Probably hoping to see Sirius lose so he can get his hands on the Black estate," Harry whispered back. Harry knew that couldn't happen because Sirius had told him so. After a moment, Harry considered the Malfoys shouldn't have known about the trial and maybe there was another reason for the couple to be here as he watched an older lady trip slightly as she sat near but in front of the Malfoys, and an older man with a limp sit behind the Malfoys. Could those be Tonks and Moody in disguise he wondered?

Director Bones walked in and took her place, standing and appearing to do a quick count. She looked at her watch and then banged the gavel as the last few Wizengamot members took their seats. "Amelia Bones presiding over this session of the Wizengamot for judicial matters only, as is my right as Director of Magical Law Enforcement." While spoken to the entire chamber, she was looking at the court scribe, who was watching over the court Dict-O-Quill and then nodded back at her. "Let's proceed to the first trial."

As the first defendant was brought in, Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge with Senior Undersecretary Delores Umbridge walked in and took their seats, with Fudge sitting next to Bones. Albus Dumbledore also entered and sat at the end of the first row in an area that was boxed off with a small rail, making it look like the privileged seat that it was for the Chief Warlock.

"Sorry, I'm late," Fudge said, "but I'll start the session."

"No need, Minister," Bones replied. "Since this is a judicial session only, I've already started it."

"That's irregular," he commented as he looked around, probably for support.

"I may not do it often, but it's in the Wizengamot's rules of charter." Bones looked at the first defendant, someone who looked not long out of Hogwarts. "Stephen Orgain Fullmeyer, you are charged with theft…"

When the trial was over ten minutes later, with the defendant found guilty and given what was probably a large fine for him, Harry looked at his friends. "That's how I was told it works. The charges, then the Ministry will go, then the defense, then the verdict, although it may be a little looser at times I was also told and mine wasn't a strict format."

Hermione nodded a little eagerly while Ron looked thoughtful.

The second trial was similar in process but a little longer as this man had cursed the shop owner too. In the end, he was found guilty and was handed a fine and a year in Azkaban.

Harry noticed Ron was looking a little paler now; he supposed the seriousness of it was starting to sink in. Harry knew his nerves were still reminding him of how badly this could go.

"Bring in the third defendant," Bones called.

As the hooded defendant was brought in and placed in the chair, where the chains immediately wrapped around him, Fudge looked at her. "What's this? The third trial doesn't have anything about it on the agenda."

"My apologies Minister and Wizengamot members. The defendant's name and charges were left off of the agenda due to … irregularities within the Ministry." Bones paused a moment for the murmurs. "So we took a few extra precautions so that we might determine the true innocence or guilt of this man without more irregularities."

Harry noticed that both Dumbledore and Fudge looked a little confused, but Dumbledore looked a little curious too, until Sirius's hood was pulled back. Now, Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully and leaned back in a more relaxed position, but with narrowed and questioning eyes, to contemplate what was happening while Fudge looked furious.

"Sirius Black, you are charged with-" Boned began before she was interrupted.

"Are you daft?!" Fudge exploded verbally as he jumped to his feet. "I command the Aurors to bring in the Dementors! There is a 'kiss on sight' order for him!"

Bones also rose and banged her gavel several times to quiet not only the minister but many others. "Are you trying to break our laws?" she shouted as the room started to quiet, then the noise dropped off completely at her tirade. "Are you asking to be arrested for murder, Minister?"

Fudge was very red and sputtered, apparently too angry to even reply in the short time he had before Bones continued.

"I've saved you from breaking the law by rescinding the 'kiss on sight' order, and I did it quietly to help you, but in this instance you are on your own," she told him. "It is against the law to have a person kissed by Dementor who has not been sentenced to death or lifetime in prison, and for your information, Sirius Black has never had a trial much less been sentenced."

That started many murmurs among the Wizengamot, and they sounded angry to Harry. As Sirius had explained to him, the Wizengamot wouldn't like that even if he was as guilty as a devil. Because if he, a son of a Pureblood Ancient and Noble house, was abused like this, then they or their children could be too.

"That's not possible!" Fudge objected.

"Mrs Nesbit," Bones called. "As head archivist of the Hall of Records, is there any recording of a trial for Sirius Black for the events in 1981?"

An older lady with graying hair stood and with dignity said, "There is not, Madam Bones. The records clearly state that he was arrested and sent to Azkaban but there was no trial. I looked it up this morning at your request." She sat down and the angry murmurs from the Wizengamot members rose for a moment, causing Fudge to sit quickly, looking embarrassed.

Bones sat slowly and confidently. "Sirius Black, you have been charged with the murder of wizard Peter Pettigrew and twelve Muggles, as well as being an accessory to the murders of James and Lily Potter. How do you plead?"

"Not guilty to all. I also request my family barrister as is allowed by law," Sirius said boldly and steadily.

"Granted," Bones said before she looked to the side. "Head Auror Scrimgeour will represent the Ministry."

The man she'd named that had also prosecuted the other two trials arose again and walked forward.

Meanwhile, an older gentleman in impeccable dark blue robes with salt and peppery colored hair walked forward and stood next to Sirius. "Galvin Bradford for the defense," he said with a nod of his head to Bones.

Scrimgeour opened the folder in his hand and looked at the inside for a moment as everyone looked at him. He finally looked up. "Madam Bones, I wish to drop the case for accessory to murder for the two Potters."

There were many gasps, but the prize was Fudge again jumping to his feet. "You can't do that!"

Bones banged her gavel. "Minister, I will remind you that in a judicial session that you did not initiate, you are not required to be here and are present at the Wizengamot's allowance." At the clearing of a throat on the other side of Fudge, Bones added, "And you as well, Madam Umbridge."

Ron elbowed him and whispered, "That's the toad woman I told you about that teaches Defense this year."

Harry nodded absently as he considered what was going on. He was starting to see that Bones was doing a few things that were unusual and he hoped it all helped Sirius.

"While I'm sure the defense will not argue against dropping some charges…" she looked down to the defense.

"We will not," Bradford said calmly and with a pleased look.

Looking back at Fudge, she continued, "However, if you feel so strongly, Minister, you may argue the case."

Harry saw Sirius and his lawyer share a smile. It was not hard to guess that they thought the bumbling fool had no hope of winning if the Head Auror didn't want to pursue it.

Scrimgeour handed a single page of parchment to Fudge when he arrived on the floor and then stepped to the side.

"This is all you have?" Fudge exclaimed at the Head Auror with an angry expression.

"For those charges, yes."

"But he's a Death Eater, the right-hand of You-Know-Who!" Fudge shouted at Scrimgeour, shaking the parchment.

When Scrimgeour just stood there and Fudge looked accusingly at him, Bradford spoke up. "Madam Bones, we call for No Case on these charges. There is no evidence that Mr Black has ever been a Death Eater. He has no Dark Mark like all other known Death Eaters, as the Aurors who searched him can attest if they were called. Mr Black has been a friend of the Potters since their first year in Hogwarts and he lived with James Potter and his parents for a couple of summers. Also, he was best man at the Potters' wedding. All accusations to the contrary are rumor and unsubstantiated gossip, not worthy of this body's time."

"Do you have factual evidence to present, Minister?" Bones prompted.

"Pettigrew, before he was killed, he said Black killed the Potters," Fudge looked triumphant.

Bradford cleared his throat as he pulled out parchment from a pocket and looked at it. "From the official report, I believe his words were ' _Lily and James, Sirius! How could you_ '. While that may imply Mr Black did something to or with the Potters, it doesn't say what, and it might even have been an innocent statement for all we know; for example, maybe he forgot to bring a new bottle of milk. Also, anyone can shout anything, including lies. I could shout that Cornelius Fudge is the Queen of England but that doesn't make it so."

Fudge gave him a horrified look.

"In short," Bradford finished, "there is no real provable evidence to support this charge and I again call for No Case."

"Minister Fudge, the shouting of one man is not enough evidence. Do you have any more?" Bones looked down at him with her monocle giving him the evil eye as it were.

Fudge shook his head and walked back to the stairs to take his seat, throwing the parchment at Scrimgeour as he passed the man, which floated to the floor as the rubbish it was.

Bones banged her gavel. "The charges against Sirius Black as an accessory to the murders for James and Lily Potter are dropped and shall be expunged from his record."

"Yes!" Harry hissed quietly. Hermione gave him a big smile as she grabbed his arm. He saw that Ron gave him a smile and a nod. Of course, they weren't done, but so far so good.

"Mr Scrimgeour," Bones called.

"We will pursue the case for thirteen murders, no matter how unintentional they might have been. Auror Jacobson is called," Scrimgeour shouted the last.

A man the age of the Head Auror walked forward, but he was not in Auror uniform but regular robes.

"Samual Jacobson, retired Auror," he said when he reached the front.

"Mr Jacobson, please tell everyone what you found on November the first in 1981 in London in regards to Sirius Black."

Jacobson looked at the defendant and scowled. "My team and I were notified of magic being discharged in the middle of Muggle London, so we were sent to investigate. We arrived near the scene just before the blast, but we were there long enough to hear the accusation from Pettigrew about Black doing something to the Potters.

"The blast knocked every last one of us to the ground it was so powerful. We got up and searched and found Black at the edge of a crater with bodies around the area, most were smoking. He was laughing hysterically and kept muttering, although I didn't catch what he was saying because another member of my team stunned him so he couldn't do anything else.

"Despite all the screaming and hysteria from the Muggles, we managed to locate a part of Pettigrew, which was given to his mother to bury along with an Order of Merlin.

"The Magical Catastrophe team was less than a minute behind us. We stayed to help cover up the magic, take a few statements from the Muggles and then Obliviated them. Minister Fudge was part of that team back then."

When Scrimgeour looked at Bradford, the barrister looked at his notes for a moment before walking forward and looking at the witness.

"Mr Jacobson, did you see the spell cast that caused the explosion?"

"No, but it was obvious-"

"So you really don't know who cast it? Yes or no."

"No."

"What were the last spells cast from Mr Black's wand?"

"I don't know."

"Oh, why not? I thought it was standard practice to check when suspected criminals are brought to the Ministry holding cells."

Jacobson hesitated before finally saying, "The wand was snapped at the scene and the check was never performed."

"Hmm, no evidence there. However, there were two wizards there, so perhaps the spell came from the other wizard. What were the last spells cast by Pettigrew's wand?"

"We don't know, we never found it."

"Again, no evidence. You said you found part of Pettigrew. How do you know it, uh, belonged to him?"

"Who else could it have belonged to?" Jacobson objected.

"My apologies to the court for being graphic, but Mr Jacobson, were any of the dead Muggles injured such that they had body parts detached?"

"Well, yes."

"Then again I ask, how did you know _that_ belonged to Pettigrew."

"It was at the right location."

"So you assumed it was his."

Jacobson hesitated and as if forced said, "Yes."

"Again my apologies, but why didn't you find other parts? Explosions don't make things go away, unless the explosion is terribly large and I'm told this wasn't despite the crater in the ground."

"I don't know, but we didn't."

"Blasts do make things disappear," Scrimgeour argued out of turn but Bradford smiled anyway.

"Madam Bones," Bradford addressed her. "Could I ask for an impartial demonstration to prove my point?"

"As long as no one gets hurt," she agreed.

He looked over to the side. "Chief Warlock. I would request that you conjure a large clear box with a hole in it facing yourself, with an Unbreakable Charm on the glass so no one gets hurt. Then conjure a chair in it. Finally, cast a Blasting Curse at the chair through the hole. I would request you put a cow in there, but I think my point will be made with the chair, as the mess from the cow could cause some people issues."

Dumbledore stood and with the barest of twitches of his mouth said, "I appreciate your sensibilities, Mr Bradford." A moment later, a box as requested was created as was the chair.

After the Blasting Curse, Bradford walked over. "Come Mr Jacobson and tell me what you see?"

"Lots of splinters," which drew a laugh from most present.

"Tell me, Mr Bradford, do you recognize any of those splinters, as you call them?"

"Well, there's most of a leg, that part might be some of the seat. A piece of the back support is over on the side."

"So, it wasn't all vaporized, but broken up." Bradford turned and surveyed the courtroom. "Madam Bones and the Wizengamot, I submit this as proof that Peter Pettigrew was not killed by the explosion or there would have been more parts of him found. I would argue that the last spell cast by Mr Black was a Cutting Curse," at Scrimgeour's harrumph and look Bradford added, "although that can't be proven. That alleged curse cut off the finger of Pettigrew, which is why that was all of him that was found. However, Pettigrew was the one that caused the explosion just as he left, probably by Apparating."

"But the statements from the Muggles say Black did it," Scrimgeour pointed out.

"Who don't know about magic, and even if they saw it wouldn't know what they are looking at. Besides," Bradford look at the Wizengamot, "which of you would take the word of a Muggle over your son's or daughter's word?"

Harry knew Sirius didn't really think that way, but recognized the argument for what it was - an appeal to the Pure-bloods - especially when he saw a few of the members nodding their head in agreement.

"But Black was seen laughing at the scene!" Scrimgeour argued.

"Mr Jacobson," Bradford turned to the ex-Auror, "you didn't describe Mr Black's condition, where he was or what he looked like. Please do so."

"Well, he was sitting against a wall laughing. He was quite disheveled and had soot and dust all over him," Jacobson commented.

"As if he'd been caught in the blast and thrown against the wall?"

"Yes."

"And if he'd hit his head, might he not be thinking clearly, perhaps being dazed and confused?" Bradford pressed the point.

"Possibly," Jacobson admitted grudgingly.

"There you have it," Bradford told everyone. "Mr Black was not laughing because he was enjoying the moment of mayhem, but because his world had been turned upside down in an explosion and he couldn't make sense of it because he'd hit his head sharply on the wall.

"In what normal world does a man frame a former friend", he pointed at Sirius, "with a rumor, cause an explosion, and then escape and live free, while the innocent man," again he pointed at Sirius, "is caught in the blast, then the rumor believed so that he is sent to prison without a trial. Yet that unlikely scenario happened to Mr Black."

Scrimgeour opened his mouth to argue but stopped himself and only let out, "Preposterous." Turning to the bench he said, "Madam Bones, while there is not a lot of evidence for this case, we have presented what we have. I could call the other members of Auror Jacobson's team, or I could even call the Minister himself since he was at the site fairly early; however, they will all tell you the same thing so I will not waste the court's time. He's guilty of these murders, which also makes him guilty of escaping prison."

"I would object to calling the Minister as there is evidence that he is biased against my client and he is the cause of those … Ministry irregularities you mentioned at the beginning," Bradford stated as he looked at Fudge.

"I object to those slanderous statements and I will see you charged for them!" Fudge proclaimed blisteringly as he jumped to his feet.

"And I have evidence that you knew Pettigrew is still alive over a year ago, that Mr Black is innocent, and that you actively prevented a trial like this for him." Bradford replied back as calmly as before. "I also am aware of at least six witnesses who have seen Pettigrew alive after 1981. And if he is still alive, then I believe it can be shown that he caused the murders of the Muggles and my client is innocent." That caused more murmurs.

Harry found the contrast between the two men interesting. In addition, he was pleased that Bradford had believed him and the memories he'd had Kreacher take to the barrister.

"It's not true! It can't be," Fudge returned. "Sirius Black is a Death Eater and everyone here knows it!"

Bradford looked up at him. "Your desire to not face facts you don't like doesn't change the truth, such as the fact there is no evidence of Sirius Black having ever been a Death Eater. He'll gladly show you his arms which have no Dark Mark."

Bones looked over. "Please retake your seat, Minister. If it's false you have nothing to fear."

"Mr Bradford, please proceed." She also looked over to the side and nodded. Harry noticed that Kingsley Shacklebolt left the courtroom quietly, unnoticed by most.

"Madam Bones and the Wizengamot," Bradford said to the assembled, "I'm aware that Pensieve memories are normally not allowed in criminal trials for fear of tampering. However, in this case, the memories are from a thirteen and later fourteen year-old student, so I don't believe tampering will be an issue. Therefore, I beg the indulgence of the court to allow me to present memories, but if not, I can produce the witnesses in the memories and you can hear the facts in that manner instead."

Bones turned to the Wizengamot. "How say you? Vote "for" to allow the memories and "against" to force the witnesses to testify."

Harry wasn't sure what she was looking at, but it didn't take long for her see something and turn around with a satisfied look. Apparently Fudge had seen it too and he paled. Harry felt a little satisfaction that Fudge had finally remembered his brushes with Pettigrew over the last couple of years and how that might affect him.

"Scribe, bring forth the Projector Pensieve," Bones ordered.

Harry felt they had dodged a bullet, as the Muggle saying went, because now Ron shouldn't have to testify. Ron was a good friend most of the time, but he could also say things without thinking and get himself in trouble; and in this case, a mistake could kill Sirius. Despite Ron's promise, Harry didn't want to take a chance on this.

Bradford poured a memory in. "This is from June of 1994." The scribe started it.

It was obviously from Harry, he could tell that as the crowd gasped a little, watching him and Hermione outside of the Whomping Willow. It played through the confession by Pettigrew and ended at Pettigrew's escape. He heard Ron chuckle at Snape getting knocked out and he had to agree with his friend that it was a fun moment.

When the memory ended, conversation broke out, but Bradford pulled that memory out, restoring it to its phial and dropping another in. He nodded to the scribe, who started it and the crowd quieted immediately.

This memory showed the denial of the events by Fudge in the hospital wing at school.

When that ended, Bradford spoke loudly, causing the new conversation to die back down. "That memory was the same night. So you can see that Pettigrew was still alive and that Minister Fudge was made aware of it. However, he refused to believe. Madam Bones, did the Minister ever ask for an investigation about this event?"

"No, he did not, at least not to me. Mr Scrimgeour?"

"No, he did not ask me either."

Murmurs broke out and Fudge was looking around, looking like he wanted to bolt away.

"Madam Bones, I have one other event to present as evidence, but I believe you might want to take a few precautions first due to the sensitivity of the material."

Nodding in acknowledgement, Bones raised her voice. "Aurors, please seal the room."

"Don't move," came the quiet words from a few rows down from Harry. "If you pull your wand I'll kill you." Harry and everyone in the vicinity looked over to see the old man behind Lucius Malfoy holding a knife to the side of Malfoy's throat.

The old woman in front of the Malfoys turned and grabbed Lucius's cane. "I'm sorry, Auntie, but I'll require your wand too, but you'll get it back before you leave later." The old woman's face morphed for a moment to that of Tonks' before shifting back. Narcissa slowly pulled out her wand and handed it over.

Harry smiled to himself as he'd been right about those two. When he looked back to the front of the court, he saw Bones looking up at Malfoy and smiling. He knew she had seen his memories too and finally realized that the Malfoys had been invited so Lucius would be available.

"Please continue, Mr Bradford," Bones ordered.

The courtroom watched Harry and Cedric grab the Triwizard Trophy and be taken to the graveyard, the death of Cedric, Pettigrew and the rebirth of Voldemort, the battle, his return and the confession by Crouch Jr. The second memory was played immediately and everyone saw Fudge again deny the truth he was told and how he'd had the witness kissed by a Dementor … although to his credit, at least it had been an escaped prisoner who'd had a trial and been sentenced to the rest of his life in prison.

Other than the occasional screech and gasp, it was quiet throughout the playing and afterward. A glance showed even his best friends were affected. Hermione was clutching his left hand with both of hers and he'd never seen Ron paler. He now had evidence that seeing really is more effective than only hearing the story. He also considered that he should never show Ron the memory of fighting the basilisk and how close Ginny had come to death.

Into the silence, Bradford started his narrative. "As you see, Peter Pettigrew is still very much alive. We could even call Lucius Malfoy to testify that he has seen Pettigrew as you just saw him in the memory, but we'd require Veritaserum for him. Therefore, with this many witnesses we call for No Case on Pettigrew's murder charge.

"It is also clear that Pettigrew's involvement to help revive the one commonly known as You-Know-Who proves he's the Death Eater, not my client. Therefore, Peter Pettigrew is the one who does not value life and is the one who caused the explosion that killed the Muggles before he escaped and has hidden for the last fourteen years. He even confessed to it in the memory we played. If you still do not believe that Pettigrew was the one who caused the explosion, then I'll remind you that there is no factual evidence that Mr Black did, only rumor. Mr Black can _**not**_ be proven guilty by what you've seen and heard here today.

"As for Minister Fudge's misjudgments and non-compliance with the law, I'll leave that to the Wizengamot."

After a long moment, Bones looked at the Head Auror. "Do you wish to question any of the witnesses in the memory? We'll have them called if they are not present."

Scrimgeour looked at Black for a long moment, who returned the gaze levelly. "No, Madam Bones; I don't believe there's any more to be said about this case."

"Very well." Bones turn to the body behind her again. "I believe it has been clearly shown that Peter Pettigrew was not murdered in 1981, so those charges are dropped. However, for the murder of the Muggles, vote 'for' if you believe he's guilty of the charges, or 'against' for not guilty."

A minute or so later, Bones turned around with a neutral look on her face as she looked at the defendant. "Mr Sirius Black, the Wizengamot finds you not guilty of all charges and they shall be expunged from your record."

Harry would have shouted in his happiness but he was too overcome with emotion.

"Because you were falsely imprisoned, the charge of escaping prison can _not_ be applied and you may file for restitution. You are free to go. This judicial session is complete." Bones banged her gavel and the chains on Sirius fell away.

"Aurors," Bones shouted, "please escort Lucius Malfoy and Cornelius Fudge to the holding cells."

Harry found his strength and ran down the stairs of the upper gallery to the courtroom floor and straight to Sirius who caught him in a hug. "You made it!"

"I did and it was all because of you."

"I didn't do that much," Harry protested.

"But you did," Sirius argued back. "I wouldn't have tried this if you hadn't pushed me to grow up and do something. If you hadn't done that, I probably would have moped in my hiding place until I went crazy and did something stupid. Oh, and don't think I don't know where those memories came from." He ruffled Harry's hair in a teasing manner, clearly not upset at what Harry had done without telling him.

"Young man," Bradford addressed him, "I think we would have won anyway, but he's right. Those memories you sent me guaranteed it. Your gut feeling was the right one.

"Sirius, when you're ready to file for restitution, let me know and I'll start the process. I suspect they will take the average wage of department heads and give you that for each year, or that's commonly done. I know it can't make up for life missed, but don't dismiss it either - they owe you."

"Thanks for everything," Sirius held out his hand and they shook. "Go ahead and start the filling. I know you don't work cheap, but it was worth it and the Ministry can help pay for it. Oh, and file the Animagus registration for me too; I have a feeling they won't bother me since I've already spent time in prison."

Bradford laughed. "No, you'll won't be bothered about that. I'll send you the rest of the bill, but winning your case is great advertising. Good luck," he wished the ex-prisoner as he walked away.

Harry thanked his friends profusely for coming and promised he'd have them over at Christmas before they left to return to school. Harry was a little surprised that Dumbledore didn't come over, but he hadn't.

As Sirius, Remus, and Harry left the Ministry, they saw Walden McNair being escorted in handcuffs. Harry wondered how many more would be picked up based on his memory.

* * *

(A/N: Sirius is now free and Albus is still keeping his distance. Just one more chapter to go.)


	5. Chapter 5

(A/N: Sadly, here's the last chapter of this little fantasy.)

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

As he ate his porridge, Harry watched a bleary-eyed Sirius came down to breakfast. While Sirius searched to look to see what his options for breakfast were, Harry got up and went over to him and pulled him into a hug.

"What's that for?" the man asked as he returned the gesture.

"I'm just so glad you're free. I really enjoyed just walking around with you in Hogsmeade yesterday afternoon."

Sirius chuckled as Harry let go and returned to his seat. "I was pretty thrilled about that too. I also liked that you didn't mind being seen with me. A lot of boys your age wouldn't have done that, being embarrassed and all."

"I told Ron yesterday that you were the person closest to being my dad and I didn't want to lose you."

Sirius put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently. "I can't take James's place, but I'll do my very best to be here for you now." He squeezed again before returning to the cold cabinet to find something to eat.

A moment later, Sirius was hit with a spell, causing him to leap and spin with his wand out, but not able to do much as he was laughing almost uncontrollably. He was pointing at Remus, who was standing in the doorway with wand in hand and a grin on his face but doing nothing except watching his laughing friend.

Eventually, Sirius managed to cancel the tickling charm and get his breath back. "Really Remus? First thing in the morning?"

"Hey, the sign on your back said to 'Tickle Me'," Remus defended himself. "I was just following instructions."

Sirius twisted and reached behind himself until he pulled a note off of himself to see that it was true. He held it up to Harry with accusation in his voice. "So, all of that was just so you could do this to me?"

"Nope, I meant every word of it, but I thought you needed to be reminded not to drink so much and I knew Remus would take advantage of the situation." There wasn't a constant prank war, but Harry thought that once a week wasn't too bad. He also tried to not remember the last one that hit him: his hot bath water turning into cold strawberry Jello last week.

"Hey, I was celebrating my freedom," Sirius defended himself. "It'll only be the one time I get that drunk, until maybe I married, or you get married." He looked at Remus and grinned, "Or maybe he'll get married. I do promise it won't be often though, all right?"

"All right," Harry agreed to the compromise. "What's the lesson today?"

Sirius went back to rummaging in the cold cabinet. "I think a little more on animation. I especially want to see more imagination as you do it to objects. There are so many little ways you can use it to your advantage."

Harry considered it as Sirius cooked breakfast for the other two.

Sirius put the food on the table for him and Remus and then sat … creating a large farting noise. Reaching down, he pulled out a flat rubber bag. "A whoopee cushion too?"

"Just trying to give Harry some ideas, at least on conjuring" Remus said blithely as he dished his breakfast.

Harry stifled his laugh, enjoying the moment with family.

An owl brought the Daily Prophet, which Remus opened up. "Hey look, Sirius, you're now a free man!"

"I sure am," Sirius agreed proudly.

"Hmm, and this article says nine were arrested yesterday for helping a terrorist group known as the Death Eaters. That's a good start," Remus remarked.

"What about Fudge?" Sirius asked.

"Oh, here it is. He's being brought up on charges of corruption and his trial is next week. Umbridge is trying to take over but is being ignored it says here as people associate her with Fudge."

"That will keep her out of Hogwarts, won't it?" Harry asked.

"Probably, at least for a while, but it's hard to say which way that will go," Remus told him.

"Harry," Sirius looked at him. "If Fudge is no longer Minister and Umbridge didn't return to Hogwarts, would you want to return to school? You've only missed a little over two weeks."

"No," Harry answered without hesitation, "or at least not this term and probably not until next year."

"Oh, why?" Sirius asked, setting his fork down to really listen.

"Because I only really started to spend time with you and Remus and I'd like to have the rest of the year to do that." He was happy to see Sirius liked that answer. "I do want to go back for Quidditch and to be with my friends again, but one year off won't be so bad. I also trust you to help me do well on my OWLs."

Sirius looked at his old friend and pounded his fist over his heart. "It gets you right here, doesn't it?"

"It does," Remus answered, a slightly sappy look on his face too. Then he sobered before rattling the newspaper, "It also proclaims that Voldemort is back."

Sirius looked at Harry. "Now that they're admitting it and taking at least a little action, maybe we'll start to make progress on the war."

"We can hope," agreed Harry.

* * *

It was Halloween day when the trio visited the Ministry of Magic. As they walked to level ten as directed in the letter, Harry asked, "Are you sure we won't see that Umbridge woman?"

"I'm sure we won't," Sirius replied, "she was sacked from here. Didn't Hermione tell you she was still teaching?"

"Yes and that she's keeping out of sight most of the time, but I really don't want to run into her after what I've heard," Harry replied as they arrived at their destination.

They were met by a hooded individual. He gave a head bow to the three before he said, "Mr Potter, if you'll follow me." The three followed and he didn't stop the other two.

"Thank you for allowing me to come here," Harry said, trying to be polite.

"Having a friend in the Minister's office helps greatly," the Unspeakable replied.

"We've been very pleased by Amelia Bones' ascension to Minister since Fudge was thrown out of office," Sirius commented.

"Many have been. Touch nothing unless directed." The Unspeakable led them to a spinning room and then out a door that that seemed to be chosen at random.

A short time later, they were in a large room with many shelves and many glass balls on each shelf. The man took them to a specific place and pointed to a glass ball. "You may pick that up. Do not touch any other if you wish to stay sane. Tap your wand on it and you'll hear the contents in your mind."

Sirius had suggested they come listen after he had found out a prophecy for Harry really did exist, since forewarned was forearmed, as the saying goes. In addition, Harry was just dying of curiosity about it. A carefully worded letter to new Minister for Magic Bones had made this task possible.

Harry followed directions and finally heard the prophecy that the Order had been guarding. In some ways, it was anti-climactic to hear it as it had been close to what they had guessed. He listened to it several times, writing it down so they could discuss it later.

"Now I can break it?" Harry asked.

The words were barely out of his mouth before the orb was yanked from his hand and floated back to the shelf. "No," the Unspeakable said flatly.

"Can more protections be placed on it?" Remus asked. "I ask because I believe Voldemort will be coming to retrieve it and he won't care who or what he destroys to get to it. He might even have a spy in your department to help him get it."

The Unspeakable considered that for a long moment before pulling a small box from his robes, expanding it, and then setting it on the floor in front of Harry. "Retrieve the orb again and place it in the box then pick up the box and follow me." He also pulled the tag off the shelf and affixed it on the box.

Harry did as ordered. They came to a special shelf where he was shown to place the box on a mark. When he did so, the box disappeared. "Our high security shelf. It will not reappear for three years. If you believe it's still needs special protection at that time, return on this day in three years and we'll consider whether to do this again or not. Follow me."

The Unspeakable led them back to the elevators without another word and then disappeared.

"Very mysterious," Sirius said with a straight-face. "Let's head home."

They made it without incident where Harry placed the written prophecy on the table for them to look at and talk about. "About what we guessed. Pretty depressing in some ways."

"Sadly, it's definitely you," Remus added. After a long moment where no one said anything, he looked at his friend. "Sirius? You're very quiet."

"Why wasn't this complete back in 1981?"

Harry and Remus looked at each other and simultaneously said, "Good question!"

A quiet alarm sounded and Albus Dumbledore stepped out of the fireplace; he did not look happy. "I understand you've been to the Department of Mysteries."

Harry was not only very surprised that Dumbledore had actually presented himself but that he had appeared so soon after their visit to the Ministry.

"Yes," Sirius answered. "I thought it was Harry's right to know something that affected him."

"It isn't time yet-"

"And when is the right time, Albus?" Sirius cut him off with some heat in his voice. "Harry needs to know so we can prepare. You can't wait until the fight has started before telling him, unless you're planning on him dying. I'm certainly not planning on that!"

Albus joined them at the table. "You have a point, one which I have debated many times with myself. My main excuse was that I wanted Harry to have a childhood for this robs that from him."

Harry snorted and the others looked at him. "I haven't had a childhood since I've lived at the Dursleys," he said with rancor.

"My dear boy, I knew it would be difficult at times, but it really was the safest place for you with the blood wards I erected there. You really should still consider it your home and return there next summer to continue the protection."

Now Remus snorted. "The safest place, really? How is it safe now the Voldemort has Harry's blood?"

Albus froze and didn't answer, even when the wait became uncomfortable.

"I suppose it's best Harry is here now," Sirius said with a pointed look. "That aside, why wasn't this prophecy fulfilled in 1981?"

"Because Voldemort didn't fully die. Also, that victory was Lily's, not Harry's. She bought us time though," Albus answered.

Sirius opened his mouth to argue but stopped and just shook his head and held up his hand in helplessness at the non-answer.

"I have one," Harry asked. "What is the special power?"

"In a word, love," Dumbledore answered. "I don't believe Voldemort really knows what true love is."

"Can't say I do either as the Dursleys never showed me any, so it must be something else," Harry retorted.

"Love takes many forms, including deep friendship," Dumbledore told him. "Your mother loved you so much she was willing to die for you and that love sealed an old magic that was strong enough to protect you from a Killing Curse."

"How do you know that?" Harry asked. "I always wondered how everyone knows that when there were only two of us in the room and I don't remember. Or has Voldemort gone around telling everyone he used a Killing Curse?" Harry vividly remembered the scene the Dementors evoked in him, but he also wondered if that was a real memory or something his mind had made up based on the story he'd heard.

"Because it is his favorite curse to kill people," Dumbledore said solemnly. "Also, the shades of James and Lily came out of Voldemort's wand last spring in the fight in the graveyard."

"Probably a good guess, but still just a guess as he could have used a different spell to kill them," Sirius said. "Look we need to start training Harry now because we never know when they will meet, as evidenced by his adventures at school. Do you at least have advice for us there?"

"No, other than to give it all time. It will work itself out," Dumbledore said sagely.

"Not a useful answer," Harry said sarcastically and with a glower. His two trainers looked like they agreed whole-heartedly.

"At least you can stop having to guard the thing," Remus told him. "It's been moved to their high security area and is unavailable for the next three years."

Dumbledore looked very alarmed. "That was unwise as it was holding his attention. Now he will seek out tasks that will hurt many."

"Maybe," Sirius agreed in word but not in tone, "but at least you don't have to keep it a secret at the Order meeting and those you have been guarding it don't have to give up that part of their life. That's what got Podmore six months in Azkaban recently, wasn't it?"

"Sturgis made a mistake, but he did the right thing in not saying anything about the Order or his task," Dumbledore said with admiration.

"Still, no need for guarding it anymore," Remus reiterated.

"You have a point," Dumbledore said as he rose. "Please leave this hiding place as little as possible as you can now see how important Harry is."

"We'll be very careful," Sirius promised vaguely.

Dumbledore didn't argue and left.

"Damn!" Sirius shouted as he slammed his hand on the table and shoved himself up and away from the table and started to pace. "This changes everything. We're going to need new lesson plans." He stopped and twirled to look at his godson. "I wished you didn't have to, but you're going to need to learn some of the family's … edgier spells too. I'm sorry this is your OWL year, but that may have to be put aside. OWLs are important, but staying alive is even more important."

Remus nodded. "We'll postpone all of the non-wanded classes and double up on the wanded ones. The postponed ones will happen when we have time later. Harry, how do you feel about this?"

Harry looked at the two who were looking at him with a great deal of worry. He smiled at them. "I'm fine with you two to help me."

Sirius rushed over and gave him a hug while Remus gave him an approving look and nod.

Halloween sucked again, Harry thought, but at least I'm only attacked by a godfather with a hug, not a troll, basilisk, or something else dire.

The next day, he revised that thought, as his two teachers did attack him as they trained. Fortunately, they still found a little time for jokes and pranks along the way.

* * *

Harry looked in the mirror, turning each way and admiring the look. He was wearing his new robes he'd received for Christmas. They were a dark gray with maroon highlights - not quite as good as dress robes, but more formal than everyday robes.

"Ready?" Sirius asked. "Nice, the girls will love it."

He couldn't help the smile for that. "That's nice," he said casually.

Sirius chuckled. "You can't fool me on that topic. Of course it's nice and you'll enjoy every minute of their attention."

"I didn't say I wouldn't," Harry quipped, "but the point of the party is to spend time with friends and maybe make a few new ones, possibly allies too."

"Don't worry about the allies part, Remus and I will talk to the parents. You just have fun. Come on." Sirius led him down to the Floo and they were in the Three Broomsticks a moment later, where Remus was waiting for them and led them upstairs to a private party room.

The three spent a little time putting up Christmas decorations before Remus dealt with the food. Harry noticed that Sirius put up a few sprigs of mistletoe around the room, "Just in case it's needed," he teased.

Harry rolled his eyes. "I'm certainly not opposed to kissing girls and I hope that will happen in the future, but I don't feel I have time for a girlfriend at the moment. I'm far too busy." Sirius just smiled at him as if he knew better.

It was no surprise to Harry that Hermione would be the first to show. They hugged as they both said, "Hi," causing each of them to chuckle.

"Glad you could make it," he told her. "Did you have a good Christmas?"

"It was lovely. I've enjoyed spending time with my parents. I finished all of my holiday homework too," she told him with a slightly challenging look.

"I'm almost never behind because of the way we do our classes," he explained. "How's it going between you and Ron? Is he still a little distant?"

"Yes," she said with a resigned sigh. "We're still friends but we don't hang out together like we did last year. He still spends most of his time with Dean or Neville."

"I'm sorry," he told her. "Hey, why don't you come over for the day next Saturday? We'll catch up."

Hermione beamed at him. "I'd love to. You can show me what you've been learning too."

"It's a plan." He saw Katie Bell come in. "Grab a drink or snack if you like; the others are arriving."

He walked over and gave Katie a quick hug and said hello. Seamus and Dean walked in next and the rest seemed to come one after the other. Sirius had had him invite nearly everyone in his year and the year on either side of him. The exceptions were those whose families were known supporters of Voldemort; meaning Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and Parkinson were definitely not invited, Bulstrude hadn't made the list either. Some had also declined saying they were busy with family, like Cho had.

However, Blaise Zabini, Daphne Greengrass, and Tracey Davis all came and entered together. Harry had been instructed by Sirius as to how to do a formal greeting and did so to those three, as well as the other Slytherins.

Looking back to first year, Harry could sort of see how Malfoy had tried to greet him formally, although it was done clumsily. He wondered if things might have been different between them if he had known little things like that and returned the greeting properly.

Ron and Ginny were among the last to arrive. Ron greeted him with a friendly, "Hey Harry!" before he headed for the table of food and then walked over to Dean and Seamus. Hermione was right, Harry thought, he's changing. Ginny gave him a very friendly hug before heading for her friends, causing him to wonder about the validity of Hermione's comment on Ginny giving up on him.

Harry continued to walk around the room to talk to everyone at least a little. However, when he saw Remus come into the room, he went over. "How's it going downstairs?"

"Sirius is still talking to a few parents and trying to get a feel for where they stand," the man answered. "Most of them just dropped their children off and said they'd come back later. How is it going up here?"

"Well, I think." Harry drained his bottle of Butterbeer as he looked around. He saw a few looking at him, but he wondered if it was him or Remus that was drawing the attention. "No one is giving them a hard time, fortunately," he said as he nodded slightly towards the Slytherins, who were generally standing together in a loose bunch. While Ron hadn't spoken to any of them, even he had left them alone.

Remus glanced over at them. "Too bad there's so much mistrust, but there are a few valid reasons."

Harry snorted softly. "Yes there are, Malfoy and his friends being most of them, but the rest seem all right for the most part as we talked. It's sort of too bad we don't have parties like this at school to help it out. I wonder why Dumbledore doesn't do that."

"Mostly because he's too busy and because it's never been done before, or so I'd imagine," Remus explained. "Of course-"

A loud explosion outside made everyone stop what they were doing, evening talking. After a couple of heartbeats, Harry hurried over to the nearby window and looked out. "Aw, crap! Just what I didn't need."

He turned around and faced the group as Remus looked out the window. "Everyone," he didn't have to shout because they were all silent and probably expecting the worst, which they were about to find out was true. "Stay up here and you'll probably be safe from the Death Eaters out in the street since there doesn't appear to be too many. Come on Remus."

Harry turned for the door and Hermione called, "Harry? We can help too."

As he reached the door, he turned back to face her. "Defend the others then, use the room for cover, but I think you're going to be on your own as I'm about to be really busy fighting someone you don't want to meet." He hurried on and Remus shut the door behind them, but they didn't lock it as they knew some in the room would have been able to undo any of the spells Remus could have put up in a hurry.

"You saw who was walking this way, didn't you?" the man asked.

"Yeah, so I guess we're about to find out if all those lessons for the last couple of months will be useful," he quipped a little sarcastically, mostly to hide his nerves.

"You won't be alone," Remus assured him with determination as they entered the main room downstairs to see people taking the Floo out as fast as possible and even a few just pulling out their wand and blasting a window to jump through because the line at the Floo was too slow.

Harry shook his head as he watched the last one run into the kitchen. "Cowards," he muttered as tables flipped on their side and pulled back near them courtesy of Sirius while Remus was removing most of the chairs by flinging them back towards the kitchen, shrinking them as they went.

The plan was obvious so Harry helped by transfiguring the tables to solid iron to help them to stand up better to the abuse they were about to receive. He also noticed the bar change to stone just as the front door opened and two people walked in.

This was going to be close quarters fighting, which was difficult because of less reaction time and reflexes were everything. Harry felt his side might have a little advantage because they had spent a lot of time practicing this style of fighting for the last two months since they were always inside the house. On the other hand, they might have had three fighters to the two on the other side, but the other side probably outclassed them on an individual basis.

When the witch cackled, Harry gripped his wand a little tighter and shook his head in disbelief. "Did you read that must be done in the _Handbook for Big Bad Evil Witches_?"

Bellatrix Lastrange stopped suddenly and looked at him, staring at him as if trying to figure him out.

Voldemort stopped next to Bella and actually smiled, at least in what probably passed for a smile from him. "Harry Potter," he said softly yet was easily heard. "I understand you're having a party but you didn't invite me. Why not?"

Harry just blinked. All the thoughts running through his head were likely to get him hexed, so he decided to go with the least offensive one to delay the inevitable fight for a little while longer. "I'm sorry, but it was for those who were near my age and I don't think you qualify."

"I suppose not, but here I am anyway," Voldemort returned, still not yet casting a spell. Bella followed his lead and didn't as well, although she was slightly bouncing on her toes in anticipation.

"Would asking you politely to leave work?" Harry asked, not sure what else to say.

"I'm afraid not. You see, you know something that I'm seeking. If you tell me, I'll consider leaving." Voldemort continued to look at him, wand in hand.

Harry felt a gentle push against his mind and realized what Voldemort was trying to do. Since he had only just started to learn Occlumency recently and knew he had no hope of stopping Riddle, he did the only thing he could: distract him with a muttered, " _Reducto!_ " before continuing as fast as possible.

Voldemort snapped up a shield as the spell left Harry's wand and then shot a spell towards Sirius, who was also firing a spell before diving towards the bar. The shield held for the Blasting Curse from Harry, but shattered on the second. "Surprising," Voldemort commented calmly before sending a Killing Curse at Harry.

Harry now dived to the side to take temporary shelter behind an iron table and then flung a Piercing Hex at Riddle, who simply batted it away as he'd done to Sirius's spell.

Remus would have helped out, but he had his hands full dealing with Bella who seemed to find the close quarters combat fun since she started cackling again as she fought.

Sirius's next spell didn't even come close, which gave Voldemort the time to send a Cruciatus at Harry, who had to dive again. Coming back up, he tried a dark Cutting Curse Sirius had taught him, which was also batted away while Voldemort dealt with a few of the remaining chairs that were attacking him, proving Sirius's spell had done what he wanted.

Dodging yet another Unforgivable, Harry tried a similar tactic and caused the curtains right behind Voldemort to grab at him, but Riddle easily cut them down and sent them flying towards Harry, who cast a Banishing Spell too, causing the cloth to writhe while it hung in the air between them while each fought for dominance.

Suddenly, Voldemort's left foot gave way and he stumbled that direction for a moment and gasped as if in pain. The curtains flew over his head at high speed and cracked the window behind him.

Harry noticed the floor under Riddle looked funny and wondered what prank spell Sirius had used before he tried a Bone Exploding curse - which narrowly missed.

That unexpected sound from her master was just enough of a distraction to cause Bella to look over and gave Remus the chance he needed. A strong Piercing Hex went through Bella's shield and hit her in the stomach. Remus showed no mercy to the witch and a Cutting Curse took off her wand arm at the shoulder, causing her to cry out and go down.

Riddle sent a Killing Curse at Harry who could only throw himself backwards to land on his bum and it still almost hit him. Twisting as he hit the floor, he tried to scramble back up but not where he had been before.

Sirius banished his last chair at Riddle and this time sent a Killing Curse of his own at the monster, followed by yet another spell.

Having no choice but to abandon his attempt to aid Bella, Riddle blasted the chair into pieces before twisting out of the way of the Killing Curse only to get hit by Sirius's second spell, which caused his robes to start shrinking rapidly and hindered him, which allowed Remus to hit him with a Piercing Hex too now that he was free for the moment.

Harry felt a stinging sensation but ignored it when he noticed Bella going for her wand with her other hand, despite bleeding profusely from her shoulder. Not knowing what else to do but afraid Bella could cast with her other hand, he summoned her detached arm that still gripped the wand, banishing it at Voldemort.

Hampered by his shrunken and too tight robes, he wasn't prepared to be hit by a bloody arm, which caused him to stumble again. Remus helped the situation by hitting the Dark Lord with a Blasting Hex to the right side, knocking him off balance a second time and probably breaking a few ribs based on the pained expression.

Looking as if it was planned, but it wasn't, Harry and Sirius both cast transfiguration spells at the same time before Voldemort could raise a shield. Sirius's hit Voldemort in the body, causing his clothes to turn to steel; while Harry's hit Voldemort in the face and caused his flesh to turn to stone and fall backward with a mighty thud.

The two Marauders and Harry looked at each other and then at the two attackers. Bella was completely still and lying in a big pool of blood while Voldemort was as still as a rock … being one literally.

"Is everyone all right?" Remus asked into the silence. His robes were cut and ripped in a few places from close calls, but he didn't seem to be hurt.

"Yeah, good enough," Sirius said as he came out from behind the bar, looking disheveled and with a bruise starting to form on the right side of his face.

"I think so," Harry answered, lowering his wand but still looking at Riddle as if he might jump up again.

"Uh, Harry? Stand still for a moment," Remus told him. Waving his wand around Harry's face, the young man felt a number of sharp pains like pin pricks all over his face and neck.

"Oww! What are you doing?" Harry glared at him.

"Harry, just stand still," Sirius told him. "You had a number of wooden splinters and there is still a spike in your shoulder, probably from the chair that _he_ blasted. I know they were raining down on me."

Remus continued working on Harry for another minute or so. "There. That should hold you." He handed Harry the spike that had been in his shoulder and was about the thickness of a finger and as long as Harry's hand.

Gulping a little, Harry looked up. "Why didn't I feel that?"

Sirius snorted. "Because you were fighting for your life and were so pumped up you weren't going to feel anything that wasn't major." He grinned and slapped Harry on the shoulder. "Good job … son."

Harry grinned too and threw his arms around Sirius and gave him a hug. "Thanks!" Letting go, he gave Remus a hug too. "Thanks for standing by me! There was no way I could have done this without both of you."

A noise outside drew their attention so they walked over to the windows. Looking out, they saw a few Death Eaters still fighting with the few Aurors present.

"Looks like the arrests after your trial were really helpful in reducing their numbers," Remus commented.

"I agree. Hey! Look over there!" Sirius said excitedly and pointed.

They saw Peter Pettigrew lying in the street, stiff and tied up. Sirius growled, "Yes! Serves the bastard right. I'm buying whoever did that something special." Not content with only his capture, he sent two quick spells that hit his former friend.

"What did you do?" Remus asked, looking like he wanted to curse the rat too.

"Tickling and itching jinxes; that should be fun while in a Body Bind," Sirius said with satisfaction.

Remus and Harry looked at each other and started laughing.

With the fighting under control, the three went back up the stairs, not noticing Madam Rosmerta looking at them in awe from the entrance to the kitchen, although she still refused to come out.

Harry figured it might be wise to knock on the closed door, as there might be traps on it, knowing Hermione. "It's me, Harry," he called loudly as he knocked. There were various sounds from inside the room before the door finally opened a few inches.

A wand and Neville's face was visible. "Tell me something only Harry would know."

"Uh, let me think. Only a few of us know why you earned points at the end of our first year for being brave. It was because you tried to stop us from going to save the Philosopher's Stone and Hermione-"

"Yeah, good enough," Neville cut him off and opening the door while looking a little embarrassed.

Harry looked around the room and found most over by the two windows looking out and with wands held in their hand. "The fighting downstairs is over. Is everyone all right up here?"

"What happened, Harry?" Hermione asked, sparing him only a glance as she kept watch out the window.

"Bella and Voldemort came to join the party and we defeated them-"

"Seriously?!" Neville shouted with wide eyes.

"Yeah, why?" Harry asked as Neville flung himself at Harry and gave him a hug Mrs Weasley would have been proud of.

"Thank you! Thank you! I'm in your debt for taking care of her!" Neville let go of Harry and ran out of the room.

Harry wondered if Remus would get the same treatment when Neville found out Remus had really done the deed.

"I'll go down and make sure he's all right," Remus said and left too.

"All right," Harry said, mystified with his friends enthusiasm for the moment.

"Sorry to interrupt, but where is Susan Bones?" Sirius called out.

"Here," the girl responded as she walked forward.

"Can you come with me and get your aunt on the Floo? We need her here," Sirius explained. The two left the room also.

— — —

Remus watched Neville stare at Bella, almost afraid for him as the boy wouldn't quit smiling and chuckling.

"Tell me about what happened to her, please?" Neville begged.

Remus noticed Sirius and Susan Bones come down the stairs. "Well, I'm not sure there's much to say, or that I should tell the details. We fought and I got a lucky shot when she was distracted. I cut her arm off and she died of blood loss."

Neville flung himself at Remus and hugged him tightly.

Remus patted the young man on the back slowly as he watched Susan Bones hurry back upstairs. "Perhaps you should go back upstairs," he suggested. When Sirius pointed out the window and he saw that Dumbledore was looking around outside as the Aurors started to clean up, Remus did his best to pull away. "Neville, you really need to go back upstairs. There are about to be conversations you really do not want to be part of, trust me."

Neville finally let go. "After I call my Gran, but thank you again." He hurried over to the fireplace to Floo Call his grandmother.

"I guess I never thought about how deeply she would affect him," Remus commented.

"Bella affected a lot of people - badly," Sirius said grimly. "What are we going to tell him?" He gestured out the window.

"As little as possible?" Remus suggested.

Sirius shrugged and turned. A moment later he was apologizing to Madam Rosmerta for making a mess of her establishment. Remus shook his head as Sirius received a hug from the older but buxom blonde; he had no doubt Sirius was enjoying that. Thankfully, Neville did head back up.

Albus Dumbledore walked in at the same time the fireplace belched out the Minister for Magic and a man in a non-descript hooded cloak plus a couple more Aurors.

"Minister," Remus said loudly. He heard Sirius walking over. "Dumbledore," he added in sounded like an after-thought. "I hope you don't mind, but we have some rubbish for you to dispose of, hopefully in a way that it'll never bother us again."

The cloaked man walked past them and started casting spells at the statue on the floor.

"What happened?" Bones asked, eyeing the entire scene, but paying most of her attention to the two figures on the floor.

Sirius took it upon himself to explain. He also made sure he ended the story with, "Harry's spell was the last one and," he looked right at Dumbledore, "vanquished him. We would suggest that the statue over there be thrown through the Veil of Death immediately."

Bones nodded as she looked over again. "Seems very reasonable. Algernon?

The cloaked figure stood. "I've learned what I came for and I concur with the suggestion. I'll call of a few from my team and take care of it."

"Very good," Bones told him. "I'm going to check outside for a few minutes, but I want to talk to Potter when I return." The two Aurors left with her.

Dumbledore stayed with them. "You did a good job of buying us more time."

Sirius glared at him. "No, we did a great job of finishing him off. He's," Sirius pointed at the stone figure, "done for and Harry is done with this."

"But-"

"No," Sirius cut the old man off. "I said it's over. Harry is done with this. If you feel there is more to do, then you take care of it, but leave Harry out of whatever you have in mind. This is non-negotiable, Albus."

Remus noticed that Albus's expression disagreed that it was over or that Harry was done, but he didn't argue verbally.

— — —

"Harry?" Hermione looked at him again and walked over this time. "What happened and why do you have a bunch of bug bites on your face? Or that's what the red spots look like."

"Oh, small wounds from the fight I guess you could say," he answered as Susan returned.

Taking a moment to decide what to say, he told them all of the story. When he was done, Susan walked over and threw her arms around his neck and kissed him hard. "I saw what you did downstairs and you're amazing - thank you."

Harry felt a little stunned by her forwardness, although he did have to say that he had enjoyed her "thank you". "Err, you're welcome."

"I knew you could do it," Ginny told him as she walked up and grabbed his head to pull him down a little and she proceeded to kiss him soundly. At the end, she also hugged him and whispered, "There's more of that if you want it." She winked at him before letting go.

"I've always wanted to do that," Katie Bell said as she walked forward and put her arms around Harry and kissed him. It wasn't as passionate as Susan or Ginny, but more soulful and lingering. "Thank you for defending us, Harry."

She had barely stepped back when Luna Lovegood stepped up and kissed him. "Lovely, but I don't think it would work long term. Still, thank you, Harry Potter."

Harry started to turn red as he realized what she was implying, but he didn't have time to dwell on it as Hermione put her arms around him and kissed him too. "I've always wondered what that would be like and now I know. I think being friends is the right thing for us. Oh, and thank you for defending us."

Now he was a little confused. Hermione had kissed him?

"Why not, I'll probably never get another chance." Daphne Greengrass took her turn and kissed him too. "Thank you, Harry."

Every girl there kissed him and thanked him, much to Sirius's amusement as he had returned not long after the girls had started their thank you's. Harry was relieved that the boys only shook his hand and a few slapped him on the shoulder too - even Blaise Zabini and the other Slytherin boys.

"I have a question," Sirius called out. "Did anyone here get Pettigrew, the one down there in a Body Bind and tied up?"

"I did," Hermione answered. "I saw him and knew we needed to be careful with him after he escaped last time."

Sirius almost ran over and grabbed her around her body and lifted as he swung her around while he laughed. "I love you for that, Hermione, and if you were more my age I'd kiss you to show you too." He put her down after a couple of spins.

"Eww!" she cried and made a traumatized face, causing everyone to laugh.

Harry thought Sirius had probably done that just to see her reaction.

"My joking aside, how about I take you shopping at the bookstore for your reward for capturing him," he told her with a grin and an expectant look. He was not disappointed as her face lit.

"Really? Deal!" she squealed, forgiving him instantly for his joke for his promised gift.

"Great. I'll buy you all the books you can carry by yourself, but no bags or magic. Harry?" Sirius looked over at him. "You need to come down in a few minutes. Minister Bones and the Aurors want to talk to you before the Unspeakables take the statue away."

"All right," Harry answered. He really didn't want to do that, but knew he didn't have a choice.

"When you return, I'll be waiting," Susan told him with a shy but hopeful look.

"As will I," Ginny told him, looking sweetly at him with the occasion glower at Susan, who shot a glare back at the youngest Weasley.

Harry noticed Hermione smirking at him as a few other girls, including Greengrass, moved closer to him and had very interested looks. He gulped and wondered how he was going to deal with this situation. At least he had time for a girlfriend now and they wouldn't try to kill him like Voldemort had.

(The End)

* * *

(A/N: Obviously, this was a "save Sirius" story. I also wanted something where Sirius would actually stand up to Molly, who I feel really didn't treat him well in his own house, though I can mostly understand she almost had to when he couldn't/wouldn't do what was needed, having been at least slightly damaged by Azkaban.

I hope you enjoyed it. Keep the author alerts on, I have a few more to publish here when I have time - Kevin)


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